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The First-tier Tribunal has revised its approach to cases where the parties wish to engage in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) after one of them has lodged an appeal with the tribunal.
In a practice statement, chamber president Greg Sinfield says the tribunal will usually be willing to stay proceedings for up to 150 days to facilitate the use of ADR at any stage of the proceedings, including after HMRC has served its statement of case or the parties have exchanged lists of documents or witness statements.
At the end of the ADR process, the parties should let the tribunal know it has been successful. If not, the tribunal will hear the appeal as normal.
This is a change from previous practice, when the tribunal would accept applications for ADR after an appeal had been lodged and HMRC’s statement of case had been served, only in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
