Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Disbursements definition

What does Disbursements mean? In legal practice, disbursements are expenses a solicitor or law firm pays, or undertakes to pay, on a client’s behalf, to be passed on to the client and, where applicable, recovered from an opponent as part of legal costs. Typical disbursements include court fees, counsel’s/advocate’s fees, expert reports, search and Land Registry fees, process serving, transcripts, travel and courier charges. They are distinct from the solicitor’s own professional fees and are usually recorded separately. Disbursements is a descriptive term used across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, rather than a single statutory definition, though it features in costs...

UK VAT for Intermediaries and Agents: Disclosed vs Undisclosed Status, Place of Supply, Financial Services Exemption, and Disbursements (including Solicitors’ Counsel Fees) and HMRC Guidance

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Practice notes

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For VAT purposes, an intermediary is a person who makes arrangements for, or facilitates, a supply (being the main, or underlying, supply) between two other people.

An intermediary can equally be called an agent or a broker, and, particularly in an EU context, a commissionaire. HMRC defines an agent as a person who organises supplies of goods or services between the agent’s customer (that is, the principal) and a third party by:

procuring goods or services for the principal (acting as a buying agent), or
identifying customers for the principal to sell to (acting as a selling agent)

Accordingly, agents are invariably connected with two distinct supplies:

the supply of goods or services between their principal and the third party, and
the provision of their own agency services to the principal, for which a fee or commission is normally charged

The VAT position for supplies made by agents can differ depending on the nature of the services; for instance, some financial services can be exempt from VAT, while others are liable to VAT. Where a supply is arranged between businesses (B2B), the intermediary’s service takes the place of supply of the service being arranged...

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Mark Rowbotham , MA FCILT

Portcullis ISC

Mark Rowbotham is an International Consultant, Trainer and writer in Customs and VAT Compliance issues, as well as other areas including International Trade, Excise, Export Controls, Oil & Gas Offshore and Marine issues. He has spent a considerable length of time working in both the Government, Commercial and Academic sectors. He deals primarily with Compliance, Control and Procedural issues in Customs, Excise and VAT, and is a trainer in these issues as well as International Trade, the Supply Chain, Finance and Risk Management courses.He was originally an Officer in HM Customs & Excise, dealing with Import and Export Controls on maritime freight traffic into and out of UK Ports, and became an independent consultant and trainer in 2000, dealing primarily with Customs compliances, procedures and documentation. He advises on these issues, and undertakes training, advisory and consultancy work in these...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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