Featured documents
This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness. The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage. The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged: Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk. Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it. In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the
This Practice Note examines the remedy of rescission, explaining when and in what manner a contract can be unwound (at common law, in equity and under statute) and thereby terminated and brought to an end. It covers the consequences and effects of rescission, the principal grounds for setting aside an agreement (misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence, duress, non‑disclosure, fiduciary misdealing and bribery) and the main obstacles to claiming rescission—affirmation, the intervention of third‑party rights and the impossibility of restitution. For further guidance on rescission in the context of misrepresentation, see Practice Note: Misrepresentation—rescission as a remedy. There are many ways in which a contract may reach its end; see: Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview for a brief and accessible summary, with links to the related further practical guidance, including Practice Note: Termination and expiry of contracts. For a table
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a determination by a court or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which finally disposes of the issues decided so they cannot be litigated again by those bound, save on appeal. Final judgments entered by default or by consent fall within this concept, whereas rulings on purely procedural points and any decision lacking finality do not. The doctrine’s aim is to bring litigation to an end and shield parties from being harassed by the same dispute twice. in personam—binds the parties and their privies in rem—binds all persons, privy or otherwise (ie a judgment binding the whole world) A party may rely on res judicata: as an estoppel to defeat an opponent’s claim or defence; and/or as the basis of their own claim or
The offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent can be tried solely in the Crown Court on indictment. Elements of the offence Under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must establish that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously: wounded with the intention of causing GBH, or caused GBH with that intention, or wounded intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person, or caused GBH intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person ‘Unlawfully’ and ‘maliciously’ Unlawfully The wounding or causing of GBH must be unlawful. Such conduct may be lawful if used: in self-defence in defence of another in defence of property for the prevention of crime where the victim gave express or implied consent For further information on these defences, see below:
Most recent Practice notes
The Ramsay principle (or Ramsay doctrine) Lexis+® UK Tax thanks Nigel Doran of Macfarlanes LLP for his input on an earlier version of this Practice Note. The views set out remain those of Lexis+® UK Tax. This Practice Note has since been reviewed and updated by Aparna Nathan, KC, Devereux Chambers. The Ramsay principle denotes a judicial approach to construing legislation in cases concerning tax avoidance. It originated with the House of Lords’ landmark ruling in WT Ramsay in 1981. The House of Lords restated the approach in BMBF v Mawson in 2004, and, as a result, some decisions describe the principle by reference to BMBF (or Mawson) rather than Ramsay. For consistency, this Practice Note, and related Practice Notes, use the term ‘ Ramsay principle’. In broad outline, the Ramsay principle can be summarised as: consider the...
Lexis+® UK Tax extends thanks to Nigel Doran of Macfarlanes LLP for his observations on an earlier version of this Practice Note in draft; nevertheless, the opinions set out remain those of Lexis+® UK Tax alone. This Practice Note has since been reviewed and revised by Aparna Nathan, KC, of Devereux Chambers. The Ramsay principle is a method of statutory interpretation fashioned by the courts in matters generally involving tax avoidance. For a broad introduction to the Ramsay principle, see Practice Note: Ramsay as a guide to statutory construction. This Practice Note addresses cases in which the courts have applied the Ramsay principle in order to adopt a realistic assessment of what are often described as composite transactions, ie transactions comprising a series of steps, designed to operate collectively to achieve a particular result. Additional themes that have emerged in cases where a Ramsay...
The framework of the people with significant control ( PSC) regime Introduced on 6 April 2016, the people with significant control ( PSC) regime is grounded in Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006), as updated by sections 81–83 and Schedule 3 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 ( SBEEA 2015), and by sections 44, 51 and Schedule 2 of the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023). It was devised to curb opacity in corporate ownership, where records often noted only the legal, not the beneficial, holder of shares. The PSC register provides accurate, up-to-date details on who ultimately owns or controls companies and other entities, and this information is publicly accessible on the central registry at Companies House. It informs investors weighing an investment and assists law enforcement during money laundering...
A person wishing to set up a new company has the following options: Incorporate a new company in line with the Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006), configuring it on incorporation to satisfy its particular requirements (a tailor-made company); or Acquire a ready-made, ‘off-the-shelf’ company (ie a company already incorporated that has never traded, a ‘shelf company’) from a company formation agent and then adapt it to meet those requirements. The actions involved in buying and customising a shelf company are set out below. For information on forming a tailor-made company, refer to Practice Note: Incorporating a company......
At times, pension schemes issue payments to members that do not align with scheme provisions or may infringe wider tax or legal requirements. Given the complexity of pensions, it is unsurprising that mistakes occur, most often as overpayments in practice. Trustees are obliged to reclaim as much of any overpaid sums as is reasonably achievable—for further detail, see Practice Note: Overpayment of pension benefits. Where treated as ‘unauthorised payments’, overpayments may trigger tax implications for members, schemes and employers alike. Are overpayments unauthorised member payments? An unauthorised member payment is, in essence, a member payment that sits outside the authorised member payment framework in section 164 of the Finance Act 2004 ( FA 2004). For general guidance on authorised payments, see Practice Note: Authorised and unauthorised payments. An overpayment is treated as an unauthorised member payment unless it falls within: an exception in the...
This Practice Note outlines the statutory provisions regulating the recovery of: overpaid direct tax, for example where a person has remitted income tax that was not actually due; and VAT paid by a taxable person to HMRC in excess of their liability, whether because too much output tax was accounted for or too little input tax was reclaimed Where these statutory frameworks do not apply, a potential remedy may arise under the law of restitution. For details on how restitution operates in relation to overpaid tax, see Practice Note: Overpaid tax—restitution. This Practice Note contains references to EU-derived law and case law. The UK ceased to be an EU Member State on 31 January 2020. On that date, the UK entered an implementation period ( IP), during which it continued to be treated as a Member State for many purposes and...
ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note summarises Lifetime ISAs, covering their legislative basis and main characteristics. It is not maintained. What is the Lifetime ISA? The Lifetime ISA launched on 6 April 2017 for adults aged under 40. Individuals may save up to £4,000 each year and receive a government bonus worth 25% of their contributions. Money held in a Lifetime ISA can fund a first home purchase or be taken tax free once over age 60. For more detail, see Key aspects of the Lifetime ISA, below. In Budget 2025, the government signalled its intention to replace the Lifetime ISA with a new product targeted solely at first-time buyers. Opening a Lifetime ISA will still be permitted until the new product goes live, and current holders may continue contributing to their Lifetime ISA...
This Practice Note It outlines the particular procedural phases in a judicial review application and then explains in detail the specific obligations for each phase, as set out by the CPR, CPR PD, and Administrative Court guidance......
Practice Note: IR35—introduction, developments and key difficulties As outlined in Practice Note: IR35—introduction, developments and key difficulties, the IR35 framework consists of two principal aspects. This Practice Note sets out the aspect of IR35 that applies where: from 6 April 2017, a public authority, and from 6 April 2021, a private sector entity (other than one that is ‘small’ or does not have a ‘ UK connection’) engages a worker through an intermediary such as a personal service company ( PSC). This aspect is described as the ‘large and public client off-payroll regime’ throughout this Practice Note and across all items in this subtopic. The other aspect of IR35 applies in every other situation, for instance where the contracting end client is a small private sector entity or lacks a UK connection. That regime is termed the ‘small client...
A taxable person may reclaim VAT where it relates to taxable supplies undertaken in the course or advancement of a business. For a general overview of the rules on VAT recovery, refer to Practice Note: When can a person recover VAT? VAT charged on expenses arising in corporate deals, including the professional charges of accountants, solicitors and other advisers, can be recoverable, subject to the facts of the transaction. This Practice Note examines recovery of VAT on the costs of business disposals and purchases, share disposals and purchases, corporate reorganisations, and share issues. It also addresses the recovery of VAT by holding companies where relevant and appropriate. For guidance on reclaiming VAT by a UK acquisition group involved in a private equity-backed buyout, see Practice Note: Tax and buyouts—deductibility and VAT recovery of acquisition group deal costs. This Practice Note also cites decisions of the EU Court of...
This Practice Note explains what a determination (also known as a revenue determination) is for direct tax purposes (ie a direct tax determination) when HMRC may issue a direct tax determination the potential quantum of any direct tax determination the time limits within which HMRC can make such a determination the consequences of a determination for a taxpayer the ways in which a taxpayer may displace a direct tax determination For this Practice Note, unless expressly stated otherwise, determination means a direct tax revenue determination. For a practical, step-by-step aid to handling a direct tax determination, see: Practical steps for dealing with a revenue determination for direct tax purposes—checklist. Note that a revenue determination is not the same as a discovery determination. A discovery determination is akin to a discovery assessment; however, a discovery...
Why is the exemption for financial services important? For firms in the financial sector, VAT treatment is a central consideration, as certain categories of financial services supplied to customers regarded as belonging in the UK are exempt from UK VAT and therefore not charged. This matters because: businesses do not add VAT to services that fall within the exemption; and those businesses cannot recover input VAT on purchases incurred in the course of making an onward exempt supply The financial services exemption from VAT The UK’s financial services VAT exemption derives from the relevant provisions of Directive 2006/112/ EC (the VAT Directive). These provisions were brought into UK law by Group 5 of Schedule 9, Part II to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 ( VATA 1994). That legislation sets out a number of items falling within the exemption. This Practice Note...
Any limited company planning to carry out a redemption of redeemable shares is required to comply with the provisions set out in the Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006). In addition to the framework under CA 2006, separate rules, as well as guidance, are pertinent where the company is listed or admitted to AIM. For an explanation of the legal conditions a company must satisfy to issue redeemable shares, with reasons a company might proceed to redeem its shares, refer to Practice Note: Issue of redeemable shares......
STOP PRESS : Significant reforms to the UK prospectus regime came into force on 19 January 2026. The new rules covering public offers of securities and admissions to trading activities in the UK are contained and set out in the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024, SI 2024/105 (the POATRs) and the FCA sourcebook, The Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market ( PRM). The UK Prospectus Regulation and the FCA Prospectus Regulation Rules have been repealed. The measures aim to streamline capital raising and materially cut the instances when a company is obliged to publish an FCA-approved prospectus for a subsequent share issue. For full information on the changes, see Practice Note: UK prospectus regime reform. This Practice Note reflects the prospectus regime in force prior to 19 January 2026......
The corporate intangible assets regime The corporate intangible assets regime sets out how a company’s gains and losses on intangible fixed assets ( IFAs) are taxed and relieved. These provisions sit in Part 8 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 ( CTA 2009). In broad terms, an IFA falls within this regime if it: satisfies the asset conditions — see Practice Note: What is an intangible fixed asset? is not a pre- FA 2002 asset Legislation describes a pre- FA 2002 asset as an IFA kept outside the corporate intangible assets regime because it does not pass the general inclusion rule. That general rule confines CTA 2009, Pt 8 to particular assets by reference to the date they were created or acquired — effectively a timing test. Where an asset fails that test, it may instead be brought within The Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 ( TCGA...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. Following recommendations of the Office of Tax Simplification and an HMRC consultation, the territorial reach of the employment-related securities rules for internationally mobile staff (and associated corporation tax relief) altered with effect from 6 April 2015. From that date, the governing legislation is contained in Schedule 9, Part 1 to the Finance Act 2014 ( FA 2014). Those provisions cover chargeable events taking place on or after 6 April 2015 concerning employment-related securities obtained before (arguably with retrospective effect) and after that date (the commencement provisions are in FA 2014, Sch 9, Pt 4)......
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note concerns the controlled foreign company ( CFC) regime as it applied to accounting periods of CFCs commencing prior to 1 January 2013. In four specific situations, a UK-resident company holding a relevant interest in a CFC—one that would otherwise have a portion of the CFC’s chargeable profits attributed to it—may submit a request to HMRC to lower those chargeable profits, with the consequence that both the apportioned amount and the related CFC charge are accordingly reduced. These four situations are commonly referred to as partial CFC exemptions......
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained This Practice Note summarises the former CFC rules that applied until the first accounting period of a CFC starting on or after 1 January 2013. For a practice note on comparable topics under the rules in force from that date, see: CFC rules—definition of control. A company is a controlled foreign company ( CFC) for an accounting period if it is: resident outside the UK, as explained further in Definition of a CFC—residence controlled by UK-resident persons, which is considered further in this note subject to a lower level of taxation in its place of residence, discussed in Lower level of taxation When determining whether persons control a company, it is necessary to consider: the specific CFC meaning of control the provisions on joint control the rules that attribute additional rights to an individual to decide whether that person...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: In 2027, stamp duty and SDRT will be superseded by a single, self-assessed levy on securities, the securities transfer charge ( STC), which will be paid and reported through a new online portal. The core features of the STC are expected to align with the proposals outlined in the 2023 consultation. Finance Bill 2026 ( FB 2026) introduces an enabling power, taking effect from Royal Assent, to permit secondary legislation that allows taxpayers to trial the new digital service by self-assessing their stamp taxes on securities liabilities and reporting transactions electronically via a digital service. News Analyses: Budget 2025— Tax analysis— Stamp and transfer taxes Tax update spring 2025— Stamp taxes on shares modernisation Tax update spring 2025— Tax analysis— Stamp and transfer taxes TAMD 2023— Stamp taxes on shares...
What is the residential property developer tax? The residential property developer tax ( RPDT) is designed to eliminate unsafe cladding, offer reassurance to homeowners and bolster confidence in the housing market, as part of the government’s building safety package. The RPDT was announced on 10 February 2021, with draft legislation issued on 20 September 2021 and 8 October 2021, and its provisions now sit in the Finance Act 2022 ( FA 2022). It applies to the largest corporate residential property developers, charging 4% on profits above a group-wide annual allowance of £25m. The tax takes effect from 1 April 2022, alongside anti-forestalling rules that stop developers bringing forward profits to an accounting period ending before that date. In broad terms, it taxes the profits of corporation tax payers, exceeding a £25m annual allowance, arising from residential property development activities linked to UK land in which they (or a...
Popular documents
When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
