Private Client analysis: This judgment concerns the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS). HMRC notified a UK company (Griffith Anderson Limited (GAL)) that it had decided to issue a scheme reference number (SRN) to GAL under section 311 of the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004). GAL was an agent of a Maltese company, Oculus Ltd (Oculus). Oculus provided services of its workers to third parties. GAL had made payments to its workers which did not give rise to income tax under UK laws (as direct payments). Oculus sought to set aside the SRN. The argument concerned the direct effect of EU Law and the tribunal decided that as EU Law no longer applies to domestic (English) law, Oculus’s purported right to freedom of movement of capital could not override the provisions of FA 2004, ss 310D–311B. Written by Evan Price, barrister at Ten Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn.

Law360: The European Parliament and Council of the European Union reached a provisional agreement on 20 May 2026 to strengthen safeguards to the trade deal reached last year with the US, according to a press release.

Law360, London: The European Parliament voted on 15 September 2026 to approve a proposal to extend the carbon border tax to more than 450 finished goods, tightening rules for high-carbon imports into the European Union.

MLex: Nine EU lawmakers from the European Parliament have endorsed the European Commission’s decision to withdraw its proposed regulation on standard-essential patent licensing, according to a letter seen by MLex. The Finnish, Swedish and Dutch lawmakers urged the Commission to focus on alternative reforms to support EU sectors such as 5G and Internet-of-Things. Their letter follows a recent push by another group of MEPs advocating for the regulation’s revival.

MLex: EU leaders have urged the European Commission to intensify talks with China over global economic imbalances while exploring new trade defence and industrial policy tools. The move points to a harder EU line on Beijing’s export-driven economy, although the leaders also warned that the EU should avoid a rupture with China and weigh the consequences of any action.

Law360: EU leaders are expected to clash at their summit on 17 April 2024 and 18 April 2024 over whether national corporate taxes should be harmonised to promote equity investments, an official from the EU said on 16 April 2024.

Law360, London: The European Commission said on 25 September 2025 that it is taking the first step toward legal action against 11 EU countries over their failure to meet a deadline to start implementing new anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

A framework of legal rules and principles that governs the European Union.

The ordinary legislative process is a standard process for passing EU legislation. Due to the unique nature of the EU institutions, the

Law360: Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven won in their attempt to lift European sanctions on 10 April 2024 as a EU court ruled that the restrictions imposed on them after the invasion of Ukraine could not be justified.

EU mandatory corporate sustainability reporting—core legal framework Corporate sustainability, or performance in respect of ‘environmental social governance’ (ESG) criteria, has become increasingly important to investors, customers and employees in recent years. In response to this, there has been a rapid development of ESG criteria (also referred to as ESG metrics or factors) against which the performance of a, usually corporate, entity can be evaluated. The overarching goal of the mandatory and voluntary ESG reporting frameworks developing in the EU and globally is to collect measurable data to show whether corporate entities are truly ‘sustainable’ in respect of each ESG metric relevant to their business and to make that data as transparent as possible for investors and other stakeholders. In the EU, the primary piece of legislation governing mandatory sustainability reporting is Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings (the EU Accounting Directive), as amended by: • Directive 2014/95/EU (the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD)), which entered into force on 5 December 2014 and applied

EU mandatory corporate sustainability reporting—core legal framework Corporate sustainability, or performance in respect of ‘environmental social governance’ (ESG) criteria, has become increasingly important to investors, customers and employees in recent years. In response to this, there has been a rapid development of ESG criteria (also referred to as ESG metrics or factors) against which the performance of a, usually corporate, entity can be evaluated. The overarching goal of the mandatory and voluntary ESG reporting frameworks developing in the EU and globally is to collect measurable data to show whether corporate entities are truly ‘sustainable’ in respect of each ESG metric relevant to their business and to make that data as transparent as possible for investors and other stakeholders. In the EU, the primary piece of legislation governing mandatory sustainability reporting is Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings (the EU Accounting Directive), as amended by: • Directive 2014/95/EU (the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD)), which entered into force on 5 December 2014 and applied