Detailed Consideration To Costs

Gavin McFarlane of Temple Chambers Cardiff discusses the ramifications of TDG (UK) Ltd v Commrs which govern the level of costs which Tribunals may award on an indemnity basis

Given the very high cost of litigation at any level and particularly in commercial matters such as complicated tax cases the question of who is eventually going to pay is of crucial importance. In both VAT and duty cases coming before the Tribunals the points at issue become steadily more involved. At the same time recent years have seen a shift away from the situation in which litigation was conducted by lawyers alone. The Bar rather outflanked the Law Society by moving to the principle of direct access and as this continues to apply to ever wider categories of disputes...