Can I serve legal proceedings by email in the UK?
Due to the current global pandemic HMRC have stated that service of any new legal proceedings or pre-action letters should now be sent via email to HMRC. This is to enforce the governments COVID-19 social distancing policy preventing the physical service of documents and spread of coronavirus.
What is the email address for service of new legal proceedings and for pre-action correspondence?
For any new legal proceedings which are to be commenced in England and Wales and served on the Solicitor for HMRC you should use the email address: [email protected].
For all pre-action correspondence which is to be sent to the Solicitor for HMRC, in compliance with the Civil Procedure Rules, must be sent via email to: [email protected].
What format should the documents I serve by email be in?
If you will be attaching documents to your email such as claim forms and particulars, you must ensure that you send:
- the documents in common formats such as PDF or word; and
- must ensure that your attachments do not exceed 10mb file size.
In the instance that your documents exceed 10mb in size you can split them into smaller emails and send to the above addresses.
Can I request a review of HMRC’s tax decision by email?
No. The above email addresses can only be used for the service of new proceedings and for pre-action letters. Therefore, if you wish to:
- appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, you should follow the government guidance here; or
- request a review of a decision by HMRC, follow the government guidance here.
HMRC’s guidance is clear on this matter, stating that if any correspondence is received via email which does not pertain to the above, it will be unread and deleted.
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