The power of the court to strike out and restore proceedings under CPR 39.3? Pursuant to CPR 39.3, in the absence of a party, a court may proceed with a trial and may thereafter: • proceed to strike out the whole of the proceedings • where the claimant does not attend, strike out the claim and any defence to any counterclaim • where the defendant does not attend, the court may strike out any defence and/or counterclaim CPR 39.3(2) and CPR 39.3(3) entitle the court to restore proceedings struck out in these circumstances and for a party against whom an adverse order or judgment has been made in their absence, to apply for that judgment or order to be set aside. Where such an application is made the applicant must demonstrate that they: • acted promptly when they found out that the court had exercised its power to strike out or enter judgment or make an order against them • had a good

This Practice Note has been written by Anne Redston, Barrister. It is her personal view; she is not authorised to speak for the Tribunals Service or the judiciary. Before you read this Practice Note you should read Practice Note: Appealing an HMRC decision. You are also advised to consider the possibility of an HMRC review, for which see Practice Note: HMRC review of a decision. This Practice Note considers the main things you should raise with your client when deciding whether or not to appeal to the First-tier Tax Tribunal (FTT). It discusses: • the payment of the tax in dispute • the merits of the case, and • issues around privacy and confidentiality It is important also to consider the costs position. There is more about this in Practice Note: Costs in the First-tier Tax Tribunal (FTT). This Practice Note, and the other Practice Notes on appealing to the FTT, are only a summary; they do not cover all situations. You may need to take further advice in relation to your

The Ramsay principle is an approach to statutory interpretation that has been developed by the courts in cases involving tax avoidance. For a general introduction to the subject, see: Ramsay as a guide to statutory construction. Identifying whether Ramsay is likely to apply to a particular transaction will always be a matter of judgment, as there is no simple test. Flags that could indicate that you should be thinking about Ramsay include: • the underlying transaction is commercial, but extra transactions have been added on that

There is no formal requirement to have a firm closure policy, however SRA Guidance says that when closing down your practice, you should plan the closure well in advance, where possible. Larger firms may need to prepare a detailed plan and should have a contingency plan for closure, merger or sale in the event of serious difficulties arising. Of course, the interests of clients are critical, but disorderly closure of a law firm, the SRA reminds us, can also cause adverse impact on the courts and others dealing with the firm, such as those on the other side of a case or transaction. If your business needs to close, it must do so in an orderly way. When firms cannot (or will

It is not strictly necessary to include the hard copy of the Joint Contract Tribunal (JCT) contract (or indeed any published construction contract) within an agreement for construction works—the parties may agree that the JCT terms are incorporated by reference. It is important, however, to ensure that the full name of the contract (including the edition) is stated, so that there is no ambiguity as to which version of the JCT terms are

Where the claim has started in the RTA or EL/PL portal, the relevant paragraph of the relevant protocol is para 5.7, which states as follows: ‘Where compliance with this Protocol is not possible before the expiry of the limitation period the claimant may start proceedings and apply to the court for an order to stay (i.e. suspend) the proceedings while the parties take steps to follow

Limiting liability to consumer clients The Terms of Business drafting notes refer to guidance on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) published by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)—clauses in consumer contracts seeking to exclude liability for consequential or indirect losses are potentially unfair (and therefore unenforceable) in two ways: • they are technical terms which may not be understood by consumer clients • such a term may have the effect of preventing the client from seeking redress in circumstances when it ought to be available, eg for potential consequential losses which the client specifically drew to your attention A consumer client is an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or

As noted in Practice Note: UK withholding tax on royalties, there are a number of provisions that impose withholding tax on UK source royalty payments. Even if one of these provisions requiring UK income tax on UK source royalty payments were to apply, there is an exemption from this withholding tax obligation if: • the payment is made by a company, local authority or qualifying partnership (broadly, a partnership in which at least one partner is a company or a local authority), and • at the time the payment is made, the payer (ie the company, the local authority or the qualifying partnership

This Q&A assumes that the transaction is under the law of England and Wales. A City of London Law Society (CLLS) certificate of title is a document which is used as the standard form of certification in various transactions, including the acquisition of properties and businesses and the obtaining of secured loans. The certificate may be provided by a solicitor acting for a borrower to a lender, though usually not where the property is to be used solely as the borrower’s private residence, and is commonly used for corporate borrowing. The standard form certificate is intended to cover all relevant

An application under section 10(2) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) is a type of financial remedy (Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 2.3). It now has a potential extended usage under the new divorce law after 6 April 2022 as it applies to all applications for divorce/dissolution issued on or after that date. The application is made in Form B. It must be made in the narrow window between the making of the conditional order and the time when it is possible to apply for

UK VAT is only chargeable on a supply of legal services where the supply is made in the UK. We assume that the advice does not primarily relate to a transfer of UK real estate, as in this case the supply will attract UK VAT wherever the client is located. We also assume that, for VAT purposes, the attorney ‘belongs’ in the UK and the executor ‘belongs’ outside the UK (‘belonging’ depends on factors such as a person’s place of establishment or residence, and is explained in the attached Practice Note: VAT place of supply rules—where is a supply made?). Determining the location of the supply depends on the identity of the client, so the first question will be whether the executor or the attorney is the UK lawyer’s client, and is therefore the recipient of the legal services. This will be a question of fact. Central to

As set out in Commentary: Conditional exemption—introduction: Foster’s Inheritance Tax [G5.01]: ‘Where the heritage property comprised in a chargeable transfer on death, or comprised in a lifetime chargeable transfer where the transferor has died within seven years of it, is also agricultural property which qualifies for agricultural relief at the rate of 100%, it is much better to rely on the agricultural relief, as it will not be affected by a subsequent sale of the property. A sale after a lifetime transfer but while the transferor