The Anti-avoidance Information Notices (Resolution of Disputes as to Privilege) Regulations 2026 were made by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs on 27 May 2026, laid before the House of Commons on 29 May 2026 and will come into force on 19 June 2026. The instrument was signed by HMRC Commissioners Jonathan Athow and Myrtle Lloyd. Made under section 186(5) of the Finance Act 2026, it fills in the procedure for one specific issue: how disputes are handled when HMRC seeks information under the new anti-avoidance notice powers and the recipient says the material is protected by legal professional privilege. According to the explanatory note on legislation.gov.uk, the regulations do not create a new test for privilege. Their purpose is procedural. They set out how disputed material is identified, how HMRC responds, and how unresolved cases are taken either to written agreement or to the tribunal for a decision.
The scope is tied to information notices issued under sections 179 to 183 of the Finance Act 2026. The regulations define ‘privileged information’ by reference to section 186(2)(d) of that Act, where privilege is treated as a category of excepted information. They also define a ‘working day’ as any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday in any part of the United Kingdom. That drafting matters because the instrument is procedural but deadline-heavy. The use of working days rather than calendar days gives a little more structure around compliance, while the cross-reference back to the Finance Act 2026 means advisers will need to read the regulations alongside the wider anti-avoidance notice regime rather than as a standalone code.
Where HMRC and the recipient disagree about whether requested material is privileged, regulation 3 requires the recipient to serve a list on HMRC identifying the information in dispute. The list must also include a description of the information and its contents, unless the recipient considers that even giving that description would itself disclose privileged information. The regulations also make clear that these steps may be taken by a person acting on the recipient’s behalf. The first deadline is tight. The list must be served by the date set for providing information in the notice, unless HMRC agrees a later date. Any extension must still fall within 20 working days beginning with the day after the original deadline. For in-house tax teams, law firms and external advisers, that creates a short period in which to review documents, identify the basis of privilege and decide how much can safely be disclosed about the disputed material.
Once the list has been served, HMRC must notify the recipient of any material on that list which HMRC considers is not privileged information. If a dispute remains after that notification, the next step sits with the recipient rather than HMRC. Regulation 3 states that the recipient must make an application to the tribunal within 20 working days beginning with the day after HMRC gives its notification. The application must include copies of the material that remains in dispute. That requirement shows that the tribunal is not being asked to rule on description alone. It is being given the disputed information itself so that it can decide whether, and to what extent, legal professional privilege applies.
The instrument also gives recipients an important temporary safeguard. Where the regulation 3 requirements have been met, the recipient is treated as having complied with the information notice, so far as the disputed material is concerned, until the tribunal has decided the issue or HMRC and the recipient have reached written agreement under regulation 5. For affected businesses, promoters, intermediaries and their legal advisers, that provision reduces the immediate risk of being treated as non-compliant while a privilege dispute is still live. It does not relax the deadlines, but it does create a clear interim position while the status of the documents is being determined.
Regulation 4 gives the tribunal a narrow and technical function. It may confirm whether and to what extent the information in dispute is, or is not, privileged information. The wording suggests that the tribunal’s task is focused on privilege status rather than the wider merits of HMRC’s underlying inquiry. At the same time, regulation 5 allows HMRC and the recipient to resolve the dispute at any stage by reaching an agreement in writing. The structure therefore keeps open a practical settlement route while preserving a formal decision-making route where the parties cannot agree.
The explanatory note states that a Tax Information and Impact Note was published on GOV.UK on 26 November 2025 alongside the Budget and remains an accurate summary of the impacts of the instrument. That points to continuity rather than a late policy change. The regulations are best read as operational detail following the framework already set by the Finance Act 2026. The practical effect is still important. From 19 June 2026, any organisation receiving an anti-avoidance information notice will need a documented process for privilege review, a clear internal timetable and a route for escalating disputes to legal advisers and, where needed, to the tribunal. In short, the regulations replace a potential procedural gap with a formal sequence, fixed deadlines and temporary compliance protection while privilege is being determined.