Overview
Sadiya has a broad advisory and litigation practice across all areas of direct and indirect tax law. She specialises in advice on complex and usually novel points of law.
She has a particular interest in excise and customs duties. She also accepts instructions in relation to tax issues which have arisen in other areas of the law, such as ancillary relief proceedings. She has considerable experience of judicial review proceedings for both taxpayers and HMRC.
Sadiya is in an expert on the procedural issues affecting tax issues such as information notices, discovery assessments, late appeals, strike-out applications and costs.
Sadiya is recommended by both Chambers & Prs and Legal 500 as a leading tax silk, it being noted that: “very much in demand as an advocate, she has a strong sense of what is practical and commercial and a very good manner with clients.”
Before taking silk, Sadiya was a member of the Attorney General’s A Panel and regularly appeared on behalf of HMRC, the National Crime Agency and other government departments. She is happy to accept instructions under the Public Access scheme.
She contributed two chapters to the Pump Court Tax Chambers Tax Litigation Handbook and also lectures regularly on a number of tax-related issues.
Sadiya speaks Urdu (in which she is bilingual), Hindi and Punjabi.
A copy of Sadiya's privacy notice can be found here.
Personal Tax
Sadiya handles a wide range of issues relating to personal tax including:
- income tax issues relating to disguised remuneration, PAYE, statutory residence, transfer of assets abroad, transactions in securities and payments on termination of employment.
- Inheritance tax issues relating to the drafting and interpretation of wills, trusts and deeds of variation; BPR and APR and gifts with reservation.
- Capital gains tax issues relating to company re-organisations, business asset disposal relief, transfers of property in ancillary relief proceedings, PPR relief and benefits received from offshore trusts.
Recent cases include:
- Peter Marano v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 876: procedural issues relating to the penalties issues to an individual. The court held that a HMRC notice issued by means of an automated process was valid as a result of legislation introduced in 2020.
- Luis & Nicolas Carvajal v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 651 (TC): case involving an inheritance tax “death bed” planning scheme involving setting up an offshore trust funded by a loan for which the deceased was required to provide a guarantee.
- Norton & anor v HMRC [2023] UKUT 48 (TCC): counsel for HMRC in an appeal concerning the income tax rules governing benefits in kind arising from the use of a car.
- Advising on the application of the transfer of assets abroad legislation where a UK resident individual gifted shares in an offshore company to a life interest trust for the spouse who was non-UK domiciled.
- Harrison v HMRC [2023] UKUT 38 (TCC): counsel for HMRC in an appeal in which the UT confirmed that the concept of “staleness” was no longer a valid basis for discharging a discovery assessment following the Supreme Court’s decision in HMRC v Tooth.
- Advice on availability of business asset disposal relief in respect of shares in a family company.
- Litigation involving whether a payment by a company to a retiring shareholder for the purchase of his shares is a distribution for income tax purposes.
- Advice to UHNW individuals on UK residence and tax status.
Corporate Tax
Sadiya is a popular and experienced practitioner whose experience covers capital reduction demergers, loan relationship provisions, loans to participators, transfer pricing and transfers of goodwill.
She is known for her expertise in a number of high profile tax avoidance cases and the UK’s unallowable purpose legislation.
She has also acted in several appeals involving the tax treatment of expenses by umbrella companies.
Recent cases include:
- BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 330: The first case in which the Court of Appeal considered the application of the transfer pricing legislation and an important case in relation to the application of the unallowable purpose legislation.
- Exchequer Solutions Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKUT 25 (TCC): the first case to consider expenses deductions by umbrella companies, in this case in relation to the reimbursement of travel expenses. These expenses were found to be not deductible as they were not incurred in travel to or from a temporary workplace.
- Mainpay v HMRC [2024] UKUT 233 (TCC): consideration as to whether an umbrella company employs its workers under an overarching contract. Clarification as to what HMRC need to do to establish causation where it is alleged that a loss of tax has been brought about carelessly.
- Delphi Derivatives Ltd v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 722 (TC): litigation relating to penalties issues under Schedule 24 Finance Act 2007 in respect of its use of a marketed tax avoidance scheme.
- Delinian Ltd (Formerly Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC) v HMRC[2023] EWCA Civ 1281: case concerning the scope of the provisions in sections 135 to 137 Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 and whether the share exchange at issue formed part of a scheme or arrangements which had a main purpose of tax avoidance.
- HMRC v Jasper Conran; JC Vision Ltd v HMRC[2023] UKUT 166 (TCC): appeals involving the value of the goodwill transferred from an LLP to a company and whether the ultimate shareholder had received a distribution. The UT decided both appeals in HMRC’s favour.
- Advice on two offshore employee benefit trusts and the implications of bringing them onshore or terminating them.
VAT/SDLT/IPT and other indirect taxes and duties
Sadiya is a leading silk in this complex area, specialising in excise and customs duties and post-Brexit legislative changes. Her expertise covers:
- VAT: import VAT, option to tax, “best judgment” assessments and classification for zero-rating purposes.
- SDLT: group relief and the application of clawback provisions, exchanges, partnership transfers, linked transactions and sub-sale relief.
- Excise duty: detention and seizure of goods, condemnation proceedings, assessment and penalty proceedings for non-duty paid goods, penalty proceedings for irregularities in documentation and seizure of goods subject to CITES.
- Customs duty: customs classification, customs value of goods, import quotas and remission applications.
She acts for large companies in customs duty disputes with HMRC, many of which have been settled successfully for the taxpayer. These include one case where HMRC initially raised a duty demand for £10 million which was eventually reduced to just over £15,000.
Recent cases include:
- Caerdav Ltd v HMRC[2023] UKUT 179 (TCC): counsel for the taxpayer in an appeal concerning the VAT and customs duty liability of the importation of an aircraft.
- Advice on VAT liabilities incurred during a period where previous owners of the company were in charge.
- Obtaining cancellation of assessments relating to import entries which had not been correctly completed.
- Claim relating to use of a duty code which the company was advised to use by the HMRC helpline but which HMRC now contend should not have been.
Legal directory recommendations
Chambers UK Bar
Tax: private client
Ranking: New Silks
- “Sadiya is very experienced in dealing with and advising on HMRC matters and always very user-friendly.”
- “Sadiya Choudhury is very much in demand as an advocate. She works hard and has a strong sense of what is practical and commercial. She has a very good manner with clients.”
Tax: indirect tax
Ranking: New Silks
- “Sadiya is very generous with her time and works extremely hard.”
- She gives very clear and highly practical advice, however complex the case.”
- “Sadiya has impressive technical expertise and makes herself available where required at short notice.”
Legal 500 UK Bar
Tax: corporate
Ranking: New Silks
- “Charming advocate who has the ear of the court.”
- Chambers UK Bar
Tax: VAT and excise
Ranking: New Silks
- “Excellent grasp of the case law, which is extensive in this area, and the nuances of the appeals procedure.”
- “An extremely effective adviser who is attentive to client needs and very understanding of the way in which their businesses work.”
- “Her willingness to assist with complex problems, often at short notice, makes her of invaluable assistance in any tax dispute.”
- “‘She is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to the relevant tax rules.”
Tax: personal
Ranking: New Silks
Publications
- Tax Litigation Handbook (Bloomsbury): sole author of two chapters on Hearings and Remote Hearings
- Jackson’s Matrimonial Finance (10th edit): author of taxation chapter.
Memberships
- Revenue Bar Association
- VAT Practitioners Group
Education
- Kinnaird College, Lahore, Pakistan: BSc (Pure Sciences, First)
- St Edmund Hall, Oxford: M.A. (Jurisprudence, First)
- Inns Court School of Law: Bar Vocational Course (Very Competent)
- Denning and Sunley Scholarships, Lincoln’s Inn
Languages
Urdu (bilingual), Hindi, Punjabi
Interviews
Sadiya is committed to assisting others succeed at the Bar to which end she has given the following interviews:
- KC appointments
- Breaking stereotypes – an interview on Ramadan FM Leicester
- One minute interview with Tax Journal