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1 Crown Office Row
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Tax: Indirect Tax

Chambers Review

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Tax: Indirect Tax - London (Bar)

2
Band 2

What the Team is Known For

1 Crown Office Row has a broad bench of practitioners able to assist clients with the full range of indirect tax law issues. The barristers regularly represent the Revenue and taxpayer clients in cases concerning VAT, customs and excise, relief claims, input tax disputes and landfill taxes, among others. They are well respected for their advocacy skills and appear in cases across all levels of the UK court system. Recent matters handled include Hotelbeds UK Ltd v HMRC, acting for the taxpayer in a multimillion-pound VAT judicial review claim. The set has also advised Education Not Discrimination on the prospects of successfully challenging the introduction of VAT on independent school fees, as well as preparing and presenting HMRC's case in Barclays Services Corporation v HMRC. Commentators speak of 1 Crown Office Row's "commercial approach to strategy and negotiations, combined with a forensic approach to identifying the crux arguments for litigation".

John Petrie MBE is the chambers director.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

Practice manager Connor Curtin is transparent, easy to get hold of and easy to communicate with. He understands his barristers' diaries very well and acts as a first port of call.

Tax: Indirect Tax respondent
UK Bar

At 1 Crown Office Row, the barristers are well supported by their clerks, who deliver a good service.

Tax: Indirect Tax respondent
UK Bar

Practice director John McLaren is fantastic at his job.

Tax: Indirect Tax respondent
UK Bar

Chloe Turvill is very good. She's highly efficient and extremely nice.

Tax: Indirect Tax respondent
UK Bar

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

Natasha Barnes
1
Natasha Barnes
1
Band 1

Natasha Barnes is a highly respected tax barrister praised for her extensive work representing HMRC in high-stakes cases. She has extensive experience of handling cases concerning VAT exemptions, HMRC assessments and fall-back provisions, among others.

Natasha is such a hard worker and she really got to grips with the issues. She is a great team player and good all-rounder who is excellent on her feet and a brilliant cross-examiner.

I've been very impressed by Natasha Barnes. She's very user-friendly, down to earth, accessible and enthusiastic.

Natasha Barnes is fantastic. The client is delighted with her work.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Natasha. She was always well prepared, well researched and pleasant to deal with. I liked her logical thought processes.

Natasha has provided first-class support. She demonstrates strong technical knowledge and has a straight-talking approach, which makes it very easy to work with her.

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2
Isabel McArdle
2
Band 2

Isabel McArdle has particular experience in VAT, customs, excise and rating. She is regularly sought to act for HMRC and taxpayers.

Isabel McArdle is excellent. She's very knowledgeable.

Isabel is formidable. When you ask her to solve a problem, she has the answer for you. She is a very thorough and impressive advocate.

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2
Owain Thomas
2
Band 2

Owain Thomas KC combines his tax practice with an impressive public law background. He regularly represents the Revenue and is extremely experienced in handling complex VAT and customs cases, among other matters. In addition to his litigation expertise, he has a growing advisory practice.

Owain Thomas KC is phenomenally bright; he gets things really fast.

Very easy to work with and very detailed in his approach to cases.

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Sarabjit Singh
2
Sarabjit Singh
2
Band 2

Sarabjit Singh KC is a well-regarded practitioner who has a broad civil practice which encompasses in-depth indirect tax expertise. He is particularly well known for his representation of the Revenue in prominent VAT cases and has experience of appearing before the Supreme Court.

What's particularly noteworthy with Sarabjit is that he openly and actively encourages genuine dialogue between himself and other lawyers. He's very communicative and personable.

Sarabjit distils very complicated concepts into easy-to-digest snippets that we can understand in a practical way. He commands the respect of opponents and judges.

Sarabjit is a formidable KC. I am impressed by his ability to lay out a clear strategy and also adapt to changing circumstances.

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Edward Waldegrave
3
Edward Waldegrave
3
Band 3

Edward Waldegrave is a well-established junior, recognised for his expertise in disputes involving indirect tax. He acts for both individuals and businesses, as well as HMRC, and has recently appeared in the Supreme Court. In 2024, Waldegrave was appointed to the Attorney General’s A Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown.

Edward writes beautifully and fluently and is super with clients. He's very articulate and very reliable - just everything you could ever want in a junior.

Edward Waldegrave is bright, diligent and sharp-witted.

He is particularly good at explaining complex matters to clients and at advocacy. Edward is someone who's very good to work with, because you genuinely have a very collaborative discussion with him.

Edward Waldegrave is bright, hard-working and very capable.

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3
Laura Inglis
3
Band 3

Laura Inglis is a former tax associate at Slaughter and May, who appears regularly in the High Court, as well as in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. Her recent work includes a case concerning three private colleges owned by the GUS Group, which were seeking to benefit from the VAT exemption for education.

Laura Inglis is super hard-working, very bright and very diligent.

Laura is user-friendly and great with the client and the entire solicitor team. Her written work is also exceptional.

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Amy Mannion
Amy Mannion
New Silks

Amy Mannion KC is a skilled silk with a strong public law and indirect tax practice. She is often called upon to represent the Revenue in cases involving such matters as VAT and alcohol duty.

Amy Mannion KC is incredibly clever, calm and controlled. She's impressive.

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Ranked Barristers at
1 Crown Office Row

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Band

Silks (KC)

London (Bar)

Tax: Indirect Tax
2
Owain Thomas KC
2
Band 2
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Sarabjit Singh KC
2
Sarabjit Singh KC
2
Band 2
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Amy Mannion KC
Amy Mannion KC
New Silks
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Juniors

London (Bar)

Tax: Indirect Tax
Natasha Barnes
1
Natasha Barnes
1
Band 1
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2
Isabel McArdle
2
Band 2
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Edward Waldegrave
3
Edward Waldegrave
3
Band 3
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3
Laura Inglis
3
Band 3
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