Penny Hamilton specializes in advice and litigation (including judicial review and references to the European Court of Justice) in VAT, landfill tax, aggregates levy, climate change levy, insurance premium tax, excise and customs duties, and the impact of European Community law. She advises clients in the commercial, retail, financial, property, education and charitable sectors on a wide range of issues. She has particular and recent experience advising and litigating on behalf of traders in mobile phone handsets and computer parts who have been affected by Customs and Excise’s refusal to refund VAT because of alleged MTIC fraud. She serves on the Consultative Committee of the Review of HMRC's Powers, Deterrents and Safeguards and the Tax Appeals Stakeholders Group. Penny is is qualified to accept Public Access instructions and she is a CEDR accredited mediator.
Called 1972 (Gray's Inn)
1973-1975: Chambers at 12 Old Square, Lincoln's Inn
1975-1987: Senior legal adviser, solicitor for Customs & Excise
1987-1989: Deloitte, Haskins and Sells (senior manager, indirect taxes division)
1989-2000: PricewaterhouseCoopers (and predecessor firms) (partner)
2000: Pump Court Tax Chambers
2002: President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation
2003: VAT Rat of the Year
2010: Bencher - Gray's Inn
2011: Voted "Best in tax dispute resolution", Euromoney European Women in Business Law Awards
2012: CEDR accredited mediator
R (on the application of Teleos and others) v CCE (Administrative Court); R v Commissioners of Customs and Excise on the application of Greenwhich Property (Administrative Court); PSL Freight v Commissioners of Customs and Excise (High Court); Littlewoods Plc v Commissioners of Customs and Excise (Court of Appeal); Foreign Property aps v Secretary of State for Health (Court of Appeal); Upton (t/a Fagomatic) v Commisioners of Customs and Excise (Court of Appeal); Dragon Futures v CCE (Administrative Court); Elite Mobile Plc v CCE (Administrative Court); Dragon Futures v CCE (VAT Tribunal); Zurich Insurance v Commissioners fo Customs & Excise (Court of Appeal); Wadham & Merton College, Oxford v Commissioners fo Customs & Excise (VAT Tribunal); Megtian Ltd v Commissioners for Customs & Excise (VAT Tribunal); Rioni Ltd v Commissioners for Customs & Excise (High Court); TNT Post Limited (Admin Court and ECJ); HMRC v Waste Recycling Group (Court of Appeal); Hilltop Assistance Ltd v HMRC (FTT); Parker Car Services Ltd (FTT); Hanbridge Storage Services Ltd (FTT).
Consulting Editior Halsbury's Laws of England (VAT and Landfill Tax)
Author (with Oliver Conolly) Hamilton on Tax Appeals (Bloomsbury 2010)
Author VAT and Duties Appeals (Tolley's 1995)
Hamilton on VAT and Duties Appeals (Tolley 2001)
Consultant Editor VAT Business by Business Guide (Tolley's 1998 & 1999)
Environmental Taxes Handbook (Tolley's 2001)
Editorial Boards, De Voil's Indirect Tax Services and Tax Adviser
Numerous articles published in the British Tax Review, the EC Tax Journal, Taxation, Tax Journal, Tax Adviser
Revenue Bar Association
Chartered Institute of Taxation - Environmental Taxes Working Group
Chartered Institute of Taxation - Representative on Tax Appeals Modernisation Stakeholders Group
Chartered Institute of Taxation - Representative on VAT & Duties Tribunals User Group
Consultative Committee on Review of HMRC powers
Institute of Indirect Taxation
Member of The Council of the CIOT & Indirect Taxes sub-committee
VAT Practitioners Group
London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association
Chairman of Gray's Inn Barristers' Committee
The Lady Eleanor Holles School
Northfield Academy; Massachussetts
University of Bristol (1971 LLB Hons)
College of Law (1972 Bar Finals)
FTII (now CTA) (Fellow) 1996
French
Tax: Indirect Tax
Ranking: Leading Juniors
Penny Hamilton "knows her VAT and is sharp on the legal issues" attaching to her cases. She is an expert on VAT, and on more tailored indirect taxes, such as insurance premium levies, landfill taxes and the Aggregates Levy. Hamilton has, of late, been working on the TNT Post case concerning VAT treatment of bulk mail deliveries (2013)
Indirect taxation specialist Penny Hamilton "has a huge breadth of knowledge", say sources. She has been heavily involved with the technological sector with regard to customs and excise duties and MTIC fraud (2012)
Penny Hamilton is an "excellent, knowledgeable barrister," who has specialist expertise in landfill tax, climate change levy, aggregates levy and insurance premium tax matters (2011)
Tax: Corporate and VAT
Ranking: VAT: Leading Junior
'Penny Hamilton is recommended' (2012)
The 'client-friendly, responsive' Penny Hamilton, who has expertise in indirect taxes (2011)
