Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Hall v HMRC: FTT rules joint and several liability notices are criminal charges engaging Article 6 ECHR; HMRC bears initial burden, must serve first; Tribunal can hear public law challenges

Published on: 02 February 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

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James Hall v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 124 (TC)

H asked the FTT to revoke case management directions that obliged him to file his witness evidence and skeleton arguments in advance of HMRC. He contended that a JSLN amounts to a criminal charge, thereby triggering the presumption of innocence, with the consequence that HMRC carries the evidential burden and ought to serve first. The FTT accepted that submission and varied the directions accordingly (paras [75], [78]).

The tribunal’s finding that JSLNs are a criminal charge, and thus the presumption applies, derived from applying the Bendenoun (Application 12547/86) criteria to assess their character and gravity. In doing so, it held that:

JSLNs have broad reach across the populace and are comparable to VAT penalties—each operates upon a community within scope of the rule, regardless of that group’s size (para [71]);
taken as a scheme, JSLNs are designed to punish and deter, to alter behaviours rather than merely compensate; the tribunal noted support for this in the Explanatory Note accompanying the Finance Bill 2020 that created JSLNs.

Accordingly, the presumption of innocence was engaged and sequencing of service was reversed, requiring HMRC to serve first, with H following thereafter under the amended directions...

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