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The Ministry of Justice has launched a brief consultation on proposed reforms to the law of judicial review in England and Wales. The consultation follows the conclusion of the Faulk’s Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL), which was established in July 2020 to examine trends in judicial review and to consider recommendations for reform including codification of key grounds and principles, clarification of the principles of non-justiciability, grounds and remedies available in claims against the government and judicial review procedure. The consultation sets out the government’s response to the IRAL report, its understanding of the constitution and its aims with regard to judicial review, as well as specific proposals for reform. The consultation includes specific questions, but also invites general feedback on the subject of judicial review more broadly. The consultation closes at 11.59 pm on 29 April 2021. Nick Wrightson in the Public Law team at Kingsley Napley LLP comments on the proposals and next steps.

HMRC has updated its import, export and Customs Guidance to reflect the post Brexit regime.

These Rules which were laid before Parliament on 16 March 2021 make amendments to the various procedural rules which apply in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal.

The latest Managing Pension Schemes Service newsletter has been published by HMRC to update stakeholders on the latest news for pension schemes. It includes information on new features for pension scheme practitioners added to the service, including in relation to practitioner registration, enrolment, authorisation and functionality.

These Regulations amend the Income Tax (Construction Industry Scheme) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/2045), to prevent abuse of the CIS set-off process.

HMRC has updated two of its guidance pages to reflect the change in the end date for accounting for import VAT on VAT Returns where the customs declaration has been delayed or where a simplified customs declaration is used.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has reported HMRC’s announcement that implementation of the extension of the Trust Registration Service (TRS), to enable non-tax paying trusts to register in compliance with 5MLD and the Money Laundering Regulations 2020, and the deadline for registration will be delayed. HMRC explained, in a meeting attended by CIOT and representatives from the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), that the IT system is expected to open for registrations in summer 2021 rather than the spring 2021. Consequently, the current registration deadline of March 2022 will be extended within the legislation in order to provide trustees and agents of existing trusts with approximately 12 months in which to register from the date of IT delivery. Further updates and clarification from HMRC will be provided in due course.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced that the Brexit support fund for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is now open for applications. SMEs can apply for a grant of up to £2,000 to support them while adapting to new rules on trading with the EU. Any UK business with fewer than 500 employees that imports or exports goods between Great Britain and the EU, or moves goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted by 30 June 2021.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2021 make provisions in consequence of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2021 (SI 2021/162) which provides for the annual up-rating of social security benefits.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has published its response to the HM Treasury call for evidence on VAT and the sharing economy which was open until 3 March 2021.

HMRC has updated its guidance on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with information on the principles and responsibilities that participating taxpayers must follow.

An international agreement has entered into force between the UK and Spain to improve tax co-operation between the tax authorities of Spain and Gibraltar.

In the ever-fast-moving world of tax announcements and developments, this news pulls together some of the key changes announced this week. Our commentary will be updated in due course to reflect these latest developments.

15 March 2021 - This roundup sets out the most important changes to HMRC manuals over the past week as curated by our editors.

HMRC has published 'Revenue and Customs Brief 3 (2021): VAT liability of digital publications – update on litigation in News Corp and Ireland Ltd'. This gives an update on the VAT treatment of supplies of digital newspapers and other digital publications prior to 1 May 2020. It replaces Revenue and Customs Brief 1 (2020), following the Court of Appeal decision in News Corp UK and Ireland Ltd (

Finance Bill 2021 was published on 11 March 2021. The Bill, formally referred to as Finance (No. 2) Bill—as the second Finance Bill to be introduced in the current Parliamentary session—is expected to proceed through Parliament with Royal Assent likely before the Parliamentary summer recess in July 2021. Emily Clark, head of Tax, and Cathryn Vanderspar, head of Real Estate Tax at Travers Smith, share their views.

HMRC has published its Employment Related Securities (ERS) Bulletin 38 and confirmed that it is continuing to review the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) across all tax-advantaged share schemes and will provide updates when necessary.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have recommended changes to draft legislation on online platform sales, encouraging more cooperation between national tax authorities in order to expedite the sharing of information and to harmonise the imposition of newly introduced sanctions.

These Regulations extend two temporary Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) disregards which were introduced for the 2020/21 tax year, so that they also apply for the 2021/22 tax year. The disregards apply to amounts reimbursed to an employee for the cost of home office equipment and also for payments or reimbursements by an employer for the cost of a relevant coronavirus antigen test.

HMRC has updated its guidance to include guidance on changes to its way of issuing a ‘certificate of status of taxable person’ to UK businesses from 8 March 2021.