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Regulatory Radar 2020/21

Published on 09 Jul 2020.

Welcome to the 2020/21 edition of RPC’s annual Regulatory Radar – a guide to the key regulatory changes worth having on your radar. We hope this will be a useful resource, helping you scan the regulatory horizon and highlight changes that could impact your business.

Regulatory update - June 2020

Published on 26 Jun 2020. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the June edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

COVID-19: The Dairy Sector and Welsh health services granted temporary UK competition law exemptions and the European Commission issues first 'Comfort Letter' to Pharmaceutical Manufacturers

Published on 01 Jun 2020. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel

The UK Government has granted a temporary competition law exemption for certain collaboration within the dairy sector and Welsh health services and the European Commission has published its first 'comfort letter' to allow co-operation to ensure supplies of medicines for COVID-19 patients.

Regulated Activities Order amendments for the new Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Published on 05 May 2020.

On 1 May 2020, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Order 2020 was published and came into force on 4 May 2020.

Regulatory Roundup Q1 2020

Published on 30 Apr 2020. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the Spring edition of the Regulatory Roundup, which aims to pull together the key developments across regulatory regimes – and help you to navigate the maze.

COVID-19: What is the CMA's current approach to UK merger assessment?

Published on 29 Apr 2020. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel

The CMA has been adapting its working practices to react to the ongoing challenges of a change in working environment that has an impact on almost all businesses.

COVID-19: Coronavirus and Competition Law - The Current Enforcement Scene

Published on 06 Apr 2020. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel

Key regulatory guidance following COVID-19 pandemic

Published on 27 Mar 2020. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

As the world tackles the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK’s Regulators have published a host of useful guidance that firms should take good note of during this period of uncertainty. While not an exhaustive list, we hope this summary highlights the key obligations and requirements currently being brought in by the Regulators.

Regulatory update - March 2020

Published on 27 Mar 2020. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the March edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Regulatory update - February 2020

Published on 13 Feb 2020.

Welcome to the February edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Regulatory update - January 2020

Published on 15 Jan 2020.

Welcome to the January edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Regulatory update - December 2019

Published on 11 Dec 2019.

Welcome to the December edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Regulatory update - November 2019

Published on 11 Nov 2019.

Welcome to the November edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Regulatory update - October 2019

Published on 10 Oct 2019. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the October edition of our monthly Regulatory update, which aims to pull together key developments from across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

All is not (necessarily) lost: Crypto crime recovery

Published on 30 Jun 2022. By Adam Craggs, Partner

With over 2 million people in the UK now holding and using cryptocurrency, and the Chancellor announcing that a government backed non-fungible token ("NFT") is to be issued by the Royal Mint this summer, the market for crypto-assets is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and years; so much so that legislation is planned to implement a new regulatory regime for the crypto market.

Parliamentary 'wash up' – which Bills made it through?

Published on 31 May 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Shahil Goodka, Trainee Solicitor

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament was then prorogued on 24 May 2024 which allowed a mere 2 days for 'wash up' - the process by which outstanding bills may be rushed through the parliamentary process.

Going Green - Draft Sustainability Guidance from the CMA

Published on 03 Apr 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Retail & Consumer Sector Lead and Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel and Sophie Tuson, Senior Associate, Environment and Climate Change Practice Lead

Following its public consultation, the CMA has published its advice to government on how competition and consumer laws can help meet the UK's environmental goals.

Hype Economics: the haves and the have bots

Published on 01 Nov 2022.

With the most wanted items selling out in the blink of an eye, consumers are leveraging automation to get ahead. Is the use of bots creating more than a moral dilemma for retailers?

Ten tips for retailers entering the metaverse

Published on 25 Oct 2022. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Hettie Homewood , Senior Associate

Once the province of online gaming and social media, the metaverse is the new hot topic in retail.

Vertical Agreements: The New Reality

Published on 07 Oct 2022. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel

For those operating in the retail sector (amongst others), 1st June 2022 saw changes to the UK and EU competition law rules and the "safe harbour" or exemption from the application of competition law for certain types of vertical agreements, i.e. for contractual parties operating at different levels of the supply chain.

Low2NoBev Show - RPC takes front row seat as exclusive legal sponsor as the "No/Lo" alcohol drinks category soars

Published on 21 Sep 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Retail & Consumer Sector Lead and Harpreet Kaur, Associate and Samuel Coppard, Senior Associate

Ahead of RPC acting as the exclusive legal sponsor of the Low2NoBev Show taking place at Olympia London later this month (26 – 28 September 2022), it is useful to understand the fundamental changes happening in this growing sector and the potential discussion points that may arise relating to the marketing of these products.

What'SUP? Single-Use Plastics (SUP) are next target in UK government's war on plastic waste

Published on 17 Aug 2022. By Eleanor Harley , Partner

It only takes a short walk along London's Regent's Canal to witness the sheer volume of littered single-use plastics (SUP).

The Summer of ‘Pre-Love’: Has Fast Fashion been Dumped by the British Public?

Published on 20 Jul 2022. By Ela Broderick-Basar, Associate

ITV’s Love Island is back on our screens, officially marking the British summer. This year the show is dumping fast fashion and ‘coupling up’ with its first-ever second-hand clothing sponsor, eBay, with contestants now donning pre-loved pieces sourced from the resale platform.

Tips for approaching innovations using consumer data

Published on 19 Jul 2022. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Amy Blackburn, Senior Associate

Now more than ever, retailers are faced with a wide array of opportunities to use customer data to achieve their commercial objectives. By spotting and assessing key risks early, organisations will be better equipped to avoid breaches of data protection law that may lead to costly fines or claims, failed projects and reputational damage.

Are the brakes on for Quick Commerce?

Published on 20 Jun 2022. By Eleanor Harley , Partner

With consumers continuing to prioritise speed and convenience in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been significant consumer uptake in the use of ultra-fast grocery delivery apps such as Zapp, Gorillas and Getir since early 2020.

Fake it till you make it? The Government says no more to fake reviews plus tightens up on subscription models

Published on 30 May 2022. By Stevie Vella , Associate

The UK Government has confirmed that new consumer rules will come into force to "shield the public from rip-offs and boost competition". Although not confirmed when these will be introduced, the top three issues on its hit list are fake reviews, "subscription traps" and prepayment schemes.

CMA pushing for more powers on sustainability

Published on 17 Mar 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Retail & Consumer Sector Lead and Sophie Tuson, Senior Associate, Environment and Climate Change Practice Lead

Following its public consultation, the CMA has published its advice to government on how competition and consumer laws can help meet the UK's environmental goals.

Hire Heels: why the rental clothing market matters

Published on 16 Sep 2021.

The old saying that "you can't wear the same outfit twice" doesn't fit well with younger consumers in particular, who are concerned about sustainability and the environmental hazards posed by fast fashion outlets.

Buy-Now-Pay-Later under the regulatory microscope

Published on 07 Sep 2021. By Whitney Simpson, Of Counsel and Harvey Briggs, Associate

Growth in the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is showing no signs of slowing. Square's recent $29 billion acquisition of BNPL behemoth Afterpay being the latest signal that the market is on an upward trajectory. In 2020 alone over 10 million Brits used BNPL to purchase goods online, accounting for nearly 4% of online retail sales. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that usage had very nearly quadrupled to account for £2.7 billion of spending in 2020. Such popularity, particularly among Gen-Z and Millennials, spans the globe with American consumers spending an estimated $20 billion to $25 billion in 2020 by way of deferred payments.

A meaty debate: traditional vs lab-grown alternatives

Published on 13 Aug 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner

The number of vegans and vegetarians in the UK has skyrocketed in recent years and there are an increasing number of 'flexitarians' aiming to reduce their meat intake for health and environmental reasons. Barclays predicts the meat-alternatives market could be worth £140bn by 2029, which is equivalent to 10% of the global meat industry. This market includes both plant-based foods and newer lab-grown meats.

Marketing mishap costs Papa John's

Published on 14 Jul 2021. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Kiran Dhoot, Associate

Last month, the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") has issued a £10,000 fine to Papa John's for sending over 165,000 marketing messages without properly meeting the requirements of the "soft opt-in" rule.

Retailers to be consulted on new legislation for protection from terrorist attacks

Published on 22 Jun 2021. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

The Government is currently consulting with the public and retailers to seek their views on proposed legislation requiring the occupiers of "publicly accessible locations" to implement measures to protect employees and members of the public in the event of a terrorist attack.

Re-commerce: the future of luxury fashion?

Published on 21 Jun 2021. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

With Gen Z successfully catapulting fashion resale platforms like Depop, StockX and Vinted into the limelight over the last decade, has the time come for the luxury market to enter the world of re-commerce?

The Great British (Local) High Street

Published on 14 Jun 2021. By Dea Gagoshidze, Associate

There is no doubt that the UK high street has been hit hard in recent years, not least by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. But alongside the headline grabbing news of shop closures, there were in fact over 7,500 new shop openings between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020.

TerraLex virtual meeting: The new wave of M&A

Published on 18 Jun 2020. By Neil Brown, Partner and Paul Joukador, Partner

In this video presentation, RPC's Neil Brown and Paul Joukador meet with Lori Green and Rick McGuirk to discuss issues related to force majeure, frustration of purpose, material adverse change, and how they’ve been impacted and will likely change in the post-pandemic world.

HMRC directed by tribunal to issue closure notices

Published on 03 Jul 2025. By Tom Holden, Associate

In Refinitiv Ltd and others v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 415 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal directed HMRC to issue closure notices on the basis it had failed to meet the burden to keep the relevant enquiries open as ongoing judicial review proceedings do not constitute "reasonable grounds" for not issuing a closure notice.

Tax Bites - July 2025

Published on 01 Jul 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.

Taxing Matters: When tax advice goes wrong: professional negligence in tax disputes

Published on 26 Jun 2025.

In this episode, our host and Senior Associate at RPC, Alexis Armitage, is joined by colleagues Helen Kerr and Tom Wild from RPC's Professional Liability team to explore how professional negligence claims can arise during the lifecycle of a tax dispute.

Upper Tribunal dismisses IR 35 challenge

Published on 26 Jun 2025. By Jasprit Singh, Senior Associate

In George Mantides Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 00124 (TCC), the Upper Tribunal dismissed the company's appeal against an income tax determination and national insurance decision. Whilst the UT set aside the earlier decision of the First-tier Tribunal on the basis that there were errors in the assessment of the hypothetical contract, ultimately it came to the same conclusion that the hypothetical contract was one of employment for the purposes of IR35.

Improving HMRC’s Approach to Dispute Resolution

Published on 19 Jun 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Of Counsel

This article considers the recently launched consultation aimed at modernising HMRC’s approach to resolving tax disputes.

No Retreat on UK Digital Services Tax – For Now

Published on 12 Jun 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Of Counsel

This blog considers recent speculation concerning the future of the UK's Digital Services Tax in the context of trade negotiations between the UK and the USA.

Court of Appeal confirms pre-construction costs qualify for capital allowances

Published on 05 Jun 2025. By Daniel Williams, Associate

In Orsted West of Duddon Sands (UK) Ltd and others v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 279, the Court of Appeal held that expenditure incurred in designing windfarms and on studies informing the installation could qualify for capital allowances.

Tax Bites - June 2025

Published on 03 Jun 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.

Blowing the whistle!

Published on 29 May 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Tom Holden, Associate

Adam Craggs and Tom Holden consider the US and Canadian 'whistleblower' models in light of the government's plans for a new reward scheme inspired by these, as well as the existing HMRC rewards scheme this initiative will complement.

Contentious Tax Quarterly Review – Spring 2025

Published on 22 May 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Of Counsel

This Contentious Tax Review provides an update on a number of recent important decisions in the tax disputes arena.

Former England captain's IR35 battle with HMRC ends in a score draw

Published on 15 May 2025. By Alexis Armitage, Senior Associate

In Bryan Robson Ltd v HMRC [2025] TC09408, the First-tier Tribunal considered the IR35 legislation in relation to ex-England footballer Bryan Robson. It found payments made for his ambassadorial role at Manchester United fell within the scope of the IR35 legislation, while payments made to him in respect of his image rights did not.

Taxing Matters: Mental Health Awareness Week: breaking down mental barriers in the mind with Jo Maughan

Published on 13 May 2025.

In this special Mental Health Awareness Week episode of Taxing Matters, host Alexis Armitage welcomes Jo Maughan, career coach and former tax director, to discuss how professionals can manage their critical inner voice and break down mental barriers in their mind.

Challenging HMRC's Debt Management Actions - Lessons Learned from Local Fuel Ltd

Published on 08 May 2025. By Michelle Sloane, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Michelle Sloane and Daniel Williams consider when a private law action, rather than judicial review, is appropriate to challenge a decision taken by HMRC's debt management team.

Tax Bites - May 2025

Published on 01 May 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.

Tribunal allows capital allowances claim for expenditure on construction of a quay wall at the Port of Liverpool 

Published on 01 May 2025. By Jasprit Singh, Senior Associate

In The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 1163 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal allowed the company's claim for capital allowances in respect of expenditure incurred on the construction of a quay wall at a new deep-water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool.