First, read what was actually decided
“Rejected” arrives in different legal shapes: an amendment reducing the claim, a refusal of a credit, a closure notice concluding the enquiry, possibly penalties alongside. Each is a decision you can challenge, and each starts the clock. Before strategy, get precise about what was decided, on what stated grounds, and what the number in dispute really is, tax, interest and penalties separately. A surprising number of disputes clarify once the grounds are written down next to the evidence that answers them.
The routes, in the order most people should try them
Statutory review. You ask for, or accept the offer of, a review by an HMRC officer not previously involved in the case. It is written, comparatively quick, and gov.uk’s own framing notes reviews are usually faster than tribunal. The cost is a well-organised written case, which you need for every other route anyway. If the review upholds the decision, the tribunal remains open.
Alternative dispute resolution. A trained HMRC mediator works with you and the case officer, available both during a stalled check and after an appealable decision, and it does not affect your right to appeal or to a review. ADR shines where the dispute is really about facts talking past each other, what the uncertainty actually was, what the records actually show, rather than a pure point of law.
The First-tier Tribunal. Independent of HMRC, decides on evidence and law, and is the forum where R&D concepts like readily deducible and competent professional get tested for real. It demands preparation: documentary evidence marshalled, your professional ready to be examined, and realistic advice on prospects. Material, genuinely arguable disputes belong here; everything else should have settled earlier.
Choosing: fight, settle or correct
The cold questions we would ask before any route:
- What does the evidence say now, not what did we believe at filing? If the enquiry exposed real gaps, the honest move may be conceding those parts, or the disclosure route on amending a past claim, which also happens to be how penalties are minimised.
- What is the number in dispute versus the cost of each route? A review costs a document; a tribunal costs months and fees. Materiality decides forums.
- What precedent does this set for our future claims? Conceding a sound methodology cheaply can cost you every following year; defending an unsound one poisons them.
- Can we still staff the fight? Tribunals need the people who did the work. If they have gone and the records are thin, that fact should shape strategy early, not late.
Frequently asked questions
How long do we have to act?
Usually 30 days from the date of the decision letter to appeal or accept a review, and a further 30-day clock runs on a review offer. Miss the window and your options narrow sharply, so the first task on any decision letter is diarising the deadline.
Is a statutory review worth it, or a rubber stamp?
It is a real look by an officer not previously involved, it is quicker than a tribunal, and it costs you little beyond a written case. Reviews do overturn and vary decisions. As a first step it is usually worth taking, and it preserves the tribunal route if it fails.
What does the tribunal involve?
An independent judicial body, outside HMRC, deciding the dispute on evidence and law. It takes time and preparation, your competent professional will likely give evidence, and it is public. For genuinely arguable, material disputes it exists precisely for you; for thin claims it is where they end badly.
Can we negotiate instead of all this?
Alternative dispute resolution embeds a trained HMRC mediator to unstick the dispute, during or after a check, and using it does not affect your review or appeal rights. Where the deadlock is factual or communication-shaped, it is often the cheapest exit.