HMRC to accept service of legal proceedings by email

HMRC has issued an updated ‘news story’ to confirm that, where possible, new legal proceedings and pre-action letters can be served on the department using email instead of post. This measure was originally introduced in April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The update confirms that this is a permanent change and not just limited to COVID-19 arrangements.

New legal proceedings in England and Wales to be served on the Solicitor for HMRC should be emailed to: [email protected]. If you use email instead of hard copy, you must send the relevant documents to the same email address – whether or not an HMRC lawyer, paralegal or litigator has already been assigned to the case. HMRC may challenge any attempt to serve new legal proceedings on the department using a different HMRC email address.

Correspondence required to be sent to the Solicitor for HMRC in compliance with any pre-action protocol to the Civil Procedure Rules, including the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review, can be emailed to: [email protected].

There is a different email address ([email protected]) for the service of employment law claims on HMRC.

These email addresses are for the service of new proceedings and pre-action letters only. There is separate guidance if you wish to request a review of a tax decision by HMRC or appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber).