Conveyancing documents subject of a third-party notice

A law firm DAC claimed that conveyancing files created by its predecessor firm and required in a third-party information notice from HMRC under FA 2008 Sch 36 para 2 were privileged documents under para 23. The files related to three properties bought in the names of three offshore companies. But as a result of a report made under the Liechtenstein disclosure facility HMRC understood a fourth offshore company had been involved in some of the transactions. It therefore wished to establish whether that business was centrally managed and controlled in the UK.

The First-tier Tribunal found that some documents were subject to legal advice privilege (LAP) ‘to the extent they were for the purpose of seeking or giving advice in relation to the various conveyancing transactions’. However others such as client care and engagement letters a declaration of trust a surveyor’s report...