ARTG8559 - First - tier and Upper Tribunals: Preparing for tribunal: Groups of related cases: Disclosure of information on related cases

When communicating with the tribunal about lead cases and the other related cases it is often helpful to refer to the group of cases in question, and / or the lead case and the other related cases in particular.

Section 18(2) CRCA 2005 allows HMRC to disclose information for the purposes of tribunal proceedings where this is the most effective or efficient way of dealing with a large number of cases where the issue is the same (IDG47020).

Where any information is disclosed, all related cases must be treated equally. For example when discussing identification of the lead case(s) and related cases, if the details of the cases are made available they should be given for all cases in the group of cases.

This approach may be useful in managing large groups of cases, for example the single point of contact, see ARTG8556, may provide the tribunal with a list of related cases so that the tribunal can check that they have all been categorised appropriately.

Litigators may share information about potential lead cases with customers in the related cases, as long as this information is anonymised (blotting out a name may not always be sufficient if it is obvious who the lead is). They may also share copies of key documents, for example a trust deed, provided that they can be sufficiently anonymised. In any case where the litigator proposes to share such information, they should write to the lead case customer in advance to tell them what they propose to do. In some contentious cases it may be appropriate to request a Tribunal Direction before doing so.