Matheu specialises in dealing with disputes involving tax issues, mainly disputes with HMRC.
He often works alongside a client’s existing advisors to help to manage and control the procedural aspects of the litigation process, to gather and prepare the client’s evidence and to analyse the opponent’s evidence, tailoring his role to what is needed in each case. He is highly regarded for finding pragmatic and cost-effective ways to deal with even the most complex tax disputes.
Matheu acts for private clients and businesses of all sizes from all sectors including IT and software, mechanical engineering, hospitality, food producers, pension providers, entertainment, aviation, professional sport, outsourcing, and natural resources.
In 2024 he was appointed as a Fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, assigned to the Tax Chamber.
Expertise
- Taxes and customs and excise duties
- Statutory appeal processes for all direct and indirect taxes and customs and excise duties
- HMRC’s ADR processes and settlements
- HMRC enquiries and the preparation and submission of applications to HMRC’s clearance services
- Tax-related issues in Insolvency Act proceedings
- Professional negligence claims concerning tax advice
Experience
- Dealt with a broad range of disputes arising from tax planning including film investment schemes and other sideways loss relief schemes, EBT schemes, contractor schemes, and SDLT schemes.
- Dealt with disputes concerning R&D tax credit claims.
- Advised companies caught up in HMRC’s crackdown on MTIC VAT fraud and in other instances where HMRC has sought to rely on the ‘knew or should have known’ principle to render third parties liable for VAT lost to fraud in related transactions.
- Acted in customs duty and import VAT disputes concerning customs valuations, incorrect tariff classifications, origin issues, breaches of the customs warehousing scheme and also disputes concerning export controls.
- Resolved IHT-related disputes, including what is now termed Business Relief.
- Acted in disputes concerning the VAT treatment of food and beverages.
- Acted in disputes concerning penalties imposed by HMRC, including personal liability notices issued to company officers.
- Dealt with claims pursued by liquidators against individuals that controlled or were connected with failed companies that owed substantial debts to HMRC including claims based on unlawful and fraudulent trading and breach of fiduciary duties.
- Challenged through tribunal proceedings and judicial review HMRC’s failure to properly exercise its powers in relation to matters such as the proper conduct of its investigations.
- Advised on professional negligence claims concerning tax advice.
- Advised on all aspects of the statutory appeal processes for all direct and indirect taxes and customs and excise duties including proceedings before the First-tier and Upper Tribunals and all levels of the conventional court system.
- Guided clients through the ADR processes HMRC is willing to follow and otherwise negotiated settlements with HMRC.
- Assisted with HMRC enquiries, the preparation and submission of applications to HMRC’s clearance services and otherwise helped clients to try to identify and, if possible, avoid potential disputes with HMRC.
- Advised on all other forms of litigation and ADR processes which feature tax-related issues such as Insolvency Act proceedings where the insolvent entity is said to have debts to HMRC and professional negligence claims concerning tax advice.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
- Member of the VAT Practitioners Group (‘VPG’)
- Member of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (‘SAHCA’)
Career
Matheu qualified as a solicitor in 1999, and as a solicitor advocate in 2011. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2008, he worked at the following firms:
- The Khan Partnership
- DLA Piper
- Nelsons