Joint Advisory Scheme

Participating bodies

  • Chartered Institute of Taxation
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
  • The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants

Purpose of the scheme

This Scheme is for members of the Participating Professional Bodies (PPBs) who wish to seek tax advice from members of the Revenue Bar Association (RBA) on simple matters by telephone or fax/email for a fixed fee. The Scheme is designed for:-

  • discussion of relatively short points;
  • where problems can be explained over the telephone;
  • where an indication is sought as to whether the point is of sufficient interest to justify further consideration.

If, after initial discussion, you wish to involve Counsel, full instructions should be provided in the normal way. It is important that instructions are given in advance of the work being undertaken. If you prefer, a summary of the problem, contained on a single side of A4, may be faxed/emailed to Counsel in advance of the telephone discussion. This gives Counsel the opportunity to consider the issues in advance. In such circumstances, a preliminary telephone call to the Clerk to arrange a mutually convenient time to discuss the problem is advisable.

How to use this scheme

Select a participating RBA member from the list at the end of this page and telephone the Chambers’ Clerk. Identify yourself as a PPB member who wishes to obtain advice under the Joint Advisory Scheme. You will be asked for:-

  • your address;
  • your telephone number;
  • your fax number/email address.

You will be sent standard terms and conditions by the Chambers’ Clerk. In complicated cases, Counsel may advise that the necessary advice cannot be given over the telephone as there is a need for further research. If this is necessary, no charge will be made and Counsel will be able to give an estimate of the time involved in the necessary research and the likely fee. You may put an initial cap on the amount of research time. Further authority will be sought by Counsel if this cap is likely to be exceeded. Normally, you can expect to receive a fee note from the Chambers within four weeks of the advice being given, although such fee notes can be sent earlier if you request it. Telephone consultations will be available under the Scheme, and the PPBs and the RBA will review the operation of the Scheme towards the end of each year.

Fees

The charge for the service will be £100 per hour with a minimum charge of £75 (plus VAT). You will be charged for the time spent by Counsel on the telephone call, plus the time taken by Counsel subsequently to make a note of the call, which will be signed by him or her and sent to you (this is required for indemnity policy purposes). You can assume that the time taken in the preparation of the note will take no longer than the time taken on the telephone. Thus, a half hour telephone call will normally be billed as one hour. Browse the list of participating chambers