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
Interest Interest is a key concept within UK tax law. In particular, a duty to withhold UK income tax can arise on payments of specified categories of interest; for further detail, see Practice Note: UK withholding tax on yearly interest. Be aware that, from 6 April 2016, the tax deduction scheme for interest ( TDSI) no longer applies. Broadly, before 6 April 2016, the TDSI obliged a deposit-taker (ie a bank) to deduct UK income tax from interest paid or credited before 6 April 2016 on a deposit held by a UK resident individual, an individual’s personal representatives or trustees. For interest paid or credited on or after 6 April 2016, alongside the abolition of the TDSI (given effect by removing section 851 of the Income Tax Act 2007 ( ITA 2007)), an express exemption confirms there is no requirement to withhold UK income tax under ITA...
Under Part 8 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 ( CTA 2009), the overarching position within the corporate intangible assets regime is that a company’s gains and losses on intangible fixed assets ( IFAs) are determined and recognised as corporation tax credits and debits in accordance with the accounting treatment of those IFAs. Put simply, the company’s accounts, drawn up under generally accepted accounting practice ( GAAP), form the starting point for establishing the taxable and relievable amounts relating to the company’s IFAs. This is commonly described as ‘tax following the accounts’. Nonetheless, there are a number of departures from this rule, where the corporate intangible assets legislation overrides the accounts and stipulates that IFA credits and debits must be worked out on an alternative basis. For broader guidance on the taxation of IFAs, see Practice Note: How intangible fixed assets are...
STOP PRESS On 11 May 2026, HMRC issued a new technical note, inheritance tax on pensions. It explains the inheritance tax ( IHT) changes made by the Finance Act 2026 for deaths on or after 6 April 2027. The note outlines how notional pension property will be pinpointed, assessed and apportioned to beneficiaries, who must report and settle any IHT due, how withholding notices and the pensions direct payment scheme will work, and how the reforms dovetail with existing income tax rules on pension death benefits. The government is expected to bring forward supporting secondary legislation on information-sharing duties later this year. HMRC will provide guidance, supplementary materials and interactive tools for personal representatives by April 2027. This Practice Note is being revised to incorporate the technical note. For more detail, see LNB News 11/05/20026 40. This Practice Note explains how IHT rules apply to the...
Updated in March 2025 Introduction The Republic of Indonesia, home to an estimated 285.7 million people in 2025, continues to be Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and a major presence in the global economic arena. As worldwide focus shifts further towards Asia, Indonesia’s position as a prominent destination for trade and investment is unmistakable. As an ASEAN member, it benefits from the bloc’s resolve to widen and deepen collaboration among member states to establish a free trade zone, evidenced by the rapid enactment and development of the ASEAN Economic Community. Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian nation within the G20, the forum of the world’s wealthiest nations. The country’s abundant natural resources underpin its prosperity, with significant revenues derived from petroleum, natural gas, and other mining activities. Agriculture also remains a vital component of the economy. By 2030, Indonesia is forecast to be among the world’s top ten...
Updated in December 2025 Introduction India remains one of the fastest growing economies globally. Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI) in FY 2024–25 reached US$80.62bn, the highest level in the past three financial years. In the first half of FY 2025–26, total FDI inflow was provisionally US$50.36bn, marking a 16% rise on the first half of FY 2024–25, which recorded US$43.37bn. As the world’s third-largest startup hub, India’s startup ecosystem is alive with innovation, ambition and a vibrant entrepreneurial mindset. Around 201,335 recognised startups have generated over 21 lakh jobs nationwide, with at least one recognised startup present in every state. This Practice Note offers a broad legal overview for doing business in India. It is drafted in general terms, and how it applies to any particular matter will depend on the specific circumstances. Readers should seek their own professional advice, and this Practice Note should not be...
What is a company? A company is a distinct legal person, separate from its owners. Members own it, while directors run it day to day. Its framework is set by the Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006). As a business structure, it is widely adopted; more than 5 million companies are registered across the UK. The CA 2006 recognises several forms, including: Public or private companies limited by shares Private companies limited by guarantee (used chiefly by charities and other not-for-profit organisations—see Practice Note: Companies limited by guarantee) Unlimited companies (uncommon—see Practice Note: Unlimited companies) This Practice Note focuses on forming public or private companies limited by shares, as these are the predominant models. Why set up a company? A principal attraction of incorporation, compared with trading as a sole trader, a partnership or another vehicle, is the separate legal...
The UK’s rules on hybrid and other mismatches The UK’s rules on hybrid and other mismatches (referred to in this Practice Note as the hybrid rules) have been in force since 1 January 2017 and are intended to neutralise tax mismatches arising from how a hybrid instrument or hybrid entity is treated for tax purposes. While the regime typically concerns cross-border arrangements involving two or more jurisdictions, it may equally apply to transactions that are entirely UK domestic. Deduction/non-inclusion mismatches ( D/ NI mismatches), meaning a payment under a hybrid mismatch arrangement is deductible in the payer jurisdiction for tax but is not brought into the taxable income of the payee or a related party investor Double deduction cases ( DD cases), meaning a payment under a hybrid mismatch arrangement gives rise to more than one tax...
As a rule, goods entering Great Britain ( GB) are subject to VAT. Import VAT is levied on goods brought into GB from outside the UK (or into Northern Ireland ( NI) from outside the EU) at the rate that would apply to an equivalent UK supply. Importers must declare the goods and account for any import duty and import VAT. Items may incur both import VAT and customs duty, or just one of them. This Practice Note focuses on import VAT, and only refers to customs duty where it influences the import VAT liability. For commentary on customs duty, see Custom duties: De Voil Indirect Tax Service [ V17.1]. Certain goods, such as alcohol and tobacco, are also subject to excise duty. Position from 1 January 2021 The UK ceased to be an EU Member State on 31 January 2020. On that date, an...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 26 November 2025, within Budget 2025, it was confirmed that from April 2029 only the first £2,000 each tax year of pension saving made under a salary sacrifice arrangement will escape National Insurance contributions ( NICs). Any amount an employee sacrifices above £2,000 a year will attract both employer and employee NICs, meaning the surplus over £2,000 will, for NICs, be handled in the same manner as other employee workplace pension payments. Employer pension funding is unchanged, and income tax relief is also preserved. Employers must record and report the total value of salary given up using the existing payroll software already in use by employers for reporting purposes, and HMRC has pledged to work with stakeholders as appropriate in practice. HMRC will issue further guidance ‘before April 2029’. The National Insurance Contributions ( Employer Pensions...
This Practice Note examines general partnerships established under the Partnership Act 1890. It sets out the key statutes and case law that shape the legal framework for partnerships. It also explains how to assess whether an individual is a partner, when partners may properly be regarded as employees or workers, the extent of a partner’s authority, partners’ liability for the firm’s debts and obligations, and the treatment of partnership property... Sources of partnership law The principal source of law for a general partnership governed by English law (as distinct from a limited liability partnership, a limited partnership, or a partnership incorporated under Scottish law) is the Partnership Act 1890 ( PA 1890), which has remained largely unchanged for more than a century. However, it is not a comprehensive code: it expressly preserves the rules of equity and common law applicable to...
Practice Note: Costs in the First-tier Tax Tribunal ( FTT) This case study is authored by Anne Redston, Barrister. It sets out her personal perspective; she is not authorised to speak officially on behalf of the Tribunals Service or the judiciary. Sasha is a recently qualified member of Parul LLP, a firm of solicitors based in Bristol. The practice represented a client in a long-running, protracted dispute with HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC). HMRC had imposed VAT penalties spanning six years in total, and Parul LLP appealed those assessments for its client. The First-tier Tax Tribunal ( FTT) classified the matter as ‘standard’. For further detail on what a standard categorisation entails, see Practice Note: Preparing for a tax tribunal case— Standard cases. Parul LLP retained a barrister to act as counsel from a set of specialist tax chambers in London. The parties...
The examples in this Practice Note draw on a privately held UK company, although similar considerations arise for families holding alternative assets or operating businesses in other territories. Ownership governance for a family enterprise entails the family reflecting on core beliefs about ownership, then documenting these through legal agreements. For details on how to put a formal framework around a family-run company, see Practice Note: Formalising the family business: the advantages a formal structure can bring. Value-out owners or custodians? There is a clear divergence in outlook between two owner archetypes in a family firm. Value-out owners commit while short- to medium-term financial returns are adequate. If those returns fail to appear, they will, like any rational investor, seek to dispose of their shares and reallocate capital to better-performing...
This page brings together Tax resources that deal with EU law matters. For broader guidance on EU law, consult EU structure, EU legislative process, EU judicial system, and EU rights and policies within the EU Law topic in the Public Law practice area. EU principles EU principles and tax—overview VAT— EU legal principles VAT and abuse of rights Overpaid tax—restitution Overpaid tax—interest and damages Interaction of EU law and direct tax [ Archived] A history of EU law and CFC regimes [ Archived] A history of EU law and thin capitalisation and transfer pricing regimes [ Archived]......
Establishing whether an employment‑related security exists is essential to deciding if the specific (and sometimes punitive) income tax and National Insurance contributions ( NICs) charges for employment‑related securities are triggered. The definition is wide and splits into two principal parts: what constitutes a security—covering shares, debt, derivatives and interests in investment partnerships, and whether the security is employment‑related—being so if the right or chance arises by reason of employment or is provided by an employer What is a security? Securities are defined in very broad terms and include: shares (including stock) in any: body corporate (whether UK or overseas incorporated), or non‑ UK unincorporated body rights under contracts of insurance other than “excluded” insurance contracts (ie pension annuity...
Employment-related securities options—specific tax rules A distinct set of income tax provisions, set out in Chapter 5 of Part 7 of the Income Tax ( Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 ( ITEPA 2003), applies to securities options connected to employment. These rules generally bring unapproved share options—ie those granted outside a tax-advantaged share ownership arrangement—within the scope of income tax. This Practice Note explains: what constitutes a securities option, and when a securities option is regarded as employment-related For comprehensive guidance on the income tax treatment of employment-related securities options, see Practice Note: Securities options—income tax treatment. An unapproved option that does not fall within the statutory definition of a securities option—for example, a share option obtained under arrangements whose main purpose is the avoidance of tax or National Insurance contributions ( NICs)—is not charged to income tax under the securities option rules....
STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime The Finance Act 2025 ( FA 2025), which obtained Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, legislates to scrap the remittance basis of taxation and bring in a residence-based system from 6 April 2025. It also replaces domicile as the primary determinant of liability to inheritance tax. Additional reforms include: Revisions to the rules that decide excluded property status Removal of the protected settlements status for offshore trusts Amendments to overseas workday relief For details on these developments, see: Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. The loan relationships provisions in Part 5 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 ( CTA 2009) contain an anti-avoidance measure concerning so-called deeply discounted securities ( DDS). Where triggered, these rules can delay when a...
Reorganisation for tax purposes This Practice Note explains the meaning of a reorganisation for tax purposes, and outlines how shareholders are taxed when a company undertakes one. A reshaping of a company’s share capital ought to be tax neutral for its investors. For tax, it is treated as involving neither a disposal of existing shares nor an acquisition of replacement shares. A shareholder’s stake in the company before and after the reorganisation is regarded as the same asset for chargeable gains purposes. For tax purposes, a reorganisation is defined expressly by statute. A range of transactions (including bonus issues and rights issues) can fall within that statutory concept. By contrast, some other arrangements (for example, scrip dividends and vendor placings) do not satisfy the conditions to qualify as a tax-neutral reorganisation. Where such steps result in existing shareholders making, or being deemed to make, a...
Why is the exemption for financial services important? VAT is a significant consideration for businesses in the financial sector, as the provision of certain types of financial services to customers in the UK is exempt from UK VAT under the exemption. This is significant because: businesses do not charge any VAT on services falling within the exemption, and those businesses cannot recover input VAT on supplies or purchases they acquire in the course of making an onward exempt supply The financial services exemption from VAT The UK’s VAT exemption for financial services is founded on the relevant provisions of Directive 2006/112/ EC (the VAT Directive). These have been enacted into domestic law by Group 5 of Schedule 9, Part II to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 ( VATA 1994), which specifies a range of items within the exemption. This Practice Note contains...
Shari’a compliant financing arrangements Shari’a‑compliant financing structures (also called Islamic financing) can be arranged in several ways. In the UK, bespoke provisions known as the alternative finance arrangement rules address the direct tax treatment of particular Shari’a financing models. These rules are designed to ensure that, for UK direct tax purposes, qualifying Shari’a‑compliant financing is treated in the same manner as a conventional loan. Achieving this treatment depends on the arrangement satisfying the relevant legislative conditions applicable to alternative finance arrangements. The regime currently extends to five distinct types of financing. However, some areas of tax legislation, such as VAT, have not adopted specific measures for Islamic financing, which can give rise to uncertainty and to circumstances in which Shari’a‑compliant finance is not aligned with the treatment of conventional finance. The alternative finance rules for direct tax are not limited solely to Islamic...
Except where an exemption or relief applies, payments of: annual interest (or amounts that tax rules treat as annual interest), and that have a UK source must be made under deduction, with the payer required to withhold and account to HMRC for UK income tax at the basic rate (20%) or, from 6 April 2027, at the savings basic rate (22%) (for more detail, see Practice Note: UK withholding tax on yearly interest). This Practice Note describes the duty to deduct (and account to HMRC for) UK income tax from UK‑source annual interest as a withholding tax, even though it is in substance a mechanism for collecting UK income tax from the UK‑based payer rather than from the recipient who: is the beneficial owner of the income, and is likely to be based outside the UK For more...
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
