1. Applicable Law
This engagement letter, any schedule of services and these standard terms and conditions of business together form the agreement between us. They are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
Subject to any mandatory rights that apply to a client acting as a consumer, the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference arising out of or in connection with our engagement. Nothing in these terms excludes or restricts any statutory right or remedy which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.
2. Client identification, anti-money laundering and sanctions checks
As a firm providing accountancy and tax services, we are required to comply with applicable anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, proliferation financing and sanctions legislation and professional requirements, including the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended), the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000.
We may therefore require information and documents to identify and verify you, any beneficial owners, persons acting on your behalf and, where appropriate, the source of funds and source of wealth. We may use electronic verification services, public registers and other appropriate databases and may repeat or update checks during the client relationship on a risk-sensitive basis.
You agree to provide promptly all information and evidence reasonably requested for these purposes and to notify us of material changes in ownership, control, address, source of funds or other relevant circumstances. We may be unable to accept instructions, may suspend work or may cease to act if required checks cannot be completed or if continuing to act would conflict with our legal, regulatory or professional obligations.
We may be required by law to make reports to the relevant authorities and may be prohibited from informing you that a report has been made or from explaining the reasons for particular action or inaction. We accept no responsibility for consequences arising solely from our compliance with such legal restrictions, subject to any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded.
3. Client money
We may from time to time hold money on your behalf. Such money will be held in trust in a client bank account, which is segregated from the firm’s funds. The account will be operated, and all funds dealt with, in accordance with the client money rules of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). These rules can be found within the ACCA
members ‘Rulebook’ at www.accaglobal.com.
4. Commissions and other benefits
In some circumstances we may receive commissions or other benefits for introductions to other professionals or in respect of transactions which we arrange for you. Where this happens we will notify you in writing of the amount and terms of payment and receipt of any such commissions or benefits.
5. Complaints
We are committed to providing you with a high quality service that is both efficient and effective. However, should there be any cause for complaint in relation to any aspect of our service please contact Jamal Khan. We agree to look into any complaint carefully and promptly and do everything reasonable to put it right. If you are still not satisfied you can refer your complaint to our professional body, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
6. Confidentiality
Communications between us and information obtained in the course of our engagement will be treated as confidential. We will take reasonable steps to protect confidential information and will not disclose it except with your authority or where disclosure is reasonably necessary for the performance of our services, or is required or permitted by law, regulation, our professional rules, our insurers, our professional advisers, an external quality or peer review, or a competent authority.
We may use employees, consultants, subcontractors, specialist advisers and technology or service providers to assist in providing our services. Where they may have access to confidential information, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate confidentiality, security and data protection obligations apply.
We will not use your name, logo or the fact that you are a client for public promotional or marketing purposes without your prior consent, unless the information is already lawfully in the public domain or disclosure is otherwise permitted by law or professional rules.
The obligations in this clause continue after the engagement ends.
7. Conflicts of interest
We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest in our relationship with you or in our relationship with you and another client. Where conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interests then we regret that we will be unable to provide further services. If there is a conflict of interest that is capable of being addressed successfully by the adoption of suitable safeguards to protect your interests then we will adopt those safeguards. Where possible this will be done on the basis of your informed consent. We reserve the right to act for other clients whose interests are not the same as or are adverse to yours subject of course to the obligations of confidentiality referred to above.
8. Data protection and privacy
We will process personal data in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended from time to time (including by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025), and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 where applicable.
Depending on the circumstances, we will process personal data where necessary to perform our contract with you, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, for our legitimate interests or recognised legitimate interests where applicable, or on another lawful basis. Where consent is legally required, we will seek it separately.
Personal data may be processed for purposes including client administration, identity and anti-money laundering checks, providing professional services, maintaining records, invoicing and debt recovery, legal and regulatory compliance, fraud and crime prevention, information security, quality control and the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Our Privacy Statement explains in more detail the categories of personal data we process, the purposes and lawful bases for processing, recipients, international transfers where applicable, retention periods or criteria and your data protection rights. It is available at https://www.churchill-tax-advisers.co.uk/privacy-statement/.
A request for erasure or restriction of personal data is subject to applicable legal, regulatory, professional and evidential retention requirements and to any other lawful basis on which the information must or may be retained.
9. Disengagement
Should we resign or be requested to resign we will normally issue a disengagement letter to ensure that our respective responsibilities are clear. Should we have no contact with you for a period of 12 months or more we may issue to your last known address a disengagement letter and hence cease to act.
10. Electronic and other communication
Unless you instruct us otherwise, we may communicate with you and relevant third parties by email, secure portal, video platform, messaging service or other electronic means where appropriate. Electronic communications may be delayed, intercepted, misdirected, corrupted or otherwise insecure despite reasonable safeguards.
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to reduce these risks, but no electronic system is completely secure. Subject to any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, we will not be responsible for loss caused solely by corruption, interception, alteration or non-receipt occurring outside our reasonable control.
You are responsible for checking communications and attachments before acting on them and for maintaining appropriate security on your own systems and accounts. If you receive any unexpected request purporting to change our bank details, payment instructions or other sensitive information, you should verify it with us using independently known contact details before making payment. We will not normally notify a change of bank account details solely by email.
Where permitted by law, we may use electronic signatures and may accept scanned or electronically signed documents. You remain responsible for ensuring that the person signing on your behalf has appropriate authority.
Any communication sent by post to the latest postal address notified to us will normally be treated as received two working days after posting, subject to evidence to the contrary and any mandatory legal requirements.
11. Fees and payment terms
Our fees may depend not only upon the time spent on your affairs but also on the level of skill and responsibility and the importance and value of the advice that we provide, as well as the level of risk.
If we provide you with an estimate of our fees for any specific work, then the estimate will not be contractually binding unless we explicitly state that that will be the case.
Where requested we may indicate a fixed fee for the provision of specific services or an indicative range of fees for a particular assignment. It is not our practice to identify fixed fees for more than a year ahead as such fee quotes need to be reviewed in the light of events. If it becomes apparent to us, due to unforeseen circumstances, that a fee quote is inadequate, we reserve the right to notify you of a revised figure or range and to seek your agreement thereto before carrying out any further work.
In some cases, you may be entitled to assistance with your professional fees, particularly in relation to any investigation into your tax affairs by HMRC. Assistance may be provided through insurance policies you hold or via membership of a professional or trade body. Other than where such insurance was arranged through us you will need to advise us of any such insurance cover that you have. You will remain liable for our fees regardless of whether all or part are liable to be paid by your insurers.
Where appropriate, we will bill annually and our invoices are due for payment upon presentation within 30 days of issue. Our fees are exclusive of VAT which will be added where it is chargeable. Any disbursements we incur on your behalf and expenses incurred in the course of carrying out our work for you will be added to our invoices where appropriate and payable by you.
Unless otherwise agreed to the contrary our fees do not include the costs of any third party, counsel or other professional fees.
We reserve the right to charge interest on late paid invoices at the rate of 3% above bank base rates under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. We also reserve the right to suspend our services or to cease to act for you on giving written notice if payment of any fees is unduly delayed. We intend to exercise these rights only where it is fair and reasonable to do so.
If you do not accept that an invoiced fee is fair and reasonable you must notify us within 21 days of receipt, failing which you will be deemed to have accepted that payment is due.
In case you decide to withdraw from our services prior to the completion of a project, you agree for us to charge for our services at the standard hourly rates (Tax Partner: £850 per hour plus VAT, Tax Director: £600 per hour plus VAT, Tax Manager: £350 plus VAT and Tax Associate: £225 per hour plus VAT) for the time spent up to the date of your notice of withdrawal. This arrangement will also apply in case of any fixed or contingent fees.
Where our fees are charged on a contingent basis, e.g. a tax refund, our fees will not be refundable in cases where the tax refund is clawed back.
Any deposit paid towards our services and fees are non- refundable under any circumstances.
Our terms relating to payment of amounts invoiced are strictly 30 calendar days. Should any fees remain unpaid after 30 days of the date of invoice, these will be referred to our solicitors for collection. You will be liable for all legal fees, debt collection costs, charges, disbursements and time cost incurred by us (at the charge rates stated above) in relation to collection of fees from you.
Where our fees are due from a limited company or a trust and the entity becomes insolvent, or is unable to pay our fees, or appoints an insolvency practitioner, or enters into any form of creditors voluntary arrangement, you (as the person instructing us and signing the letter of engagement) are providing a personal guarantee and charge over all your assets for the payment of all of our fees. You will be liable for all legal fees, debt collection costs, third party costs, disbursements and time cost incurred by us (at the hourly rates stated above) in relation to collection of fees from you.
Alternatively, in the case of a dispute over the level of fees charged we reserve the right to require that the matter is dealt with through arbitration. We recommend that arbitration is undertaken by the fee arbitration service provided by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for members. The fee arbitrator will be appointed by the ACCA’s President; the fee will be as negotiated with the arbitrator.
12. Implementation
We will only assist with implementation of our advice if specifically instructed and agreed in writing.
12A. Legal advice, legal documents and independent legal review
12A.1 Scope of our services. Churchill Tax Advisers is a firm of tax advisers and accountants. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing and lawfully permitted, our engagement is limited to tax, accounting and related advisory services. We are not engaged to act, and do not act, as solicitors, barristers, licensed conveyancers, notaries or other legal advisers.
12A.2 Our tax and accounting advice must not be treated as legal advice. Unless expressly included within an agreed and lawfully permitted scope, we do not accept responsibility for advising on the legal validity, legal effect, enforceability, interpretation, execution, witnessing, delivery, registration or other legal consequences of any contract, deed, instrument, transaction or document.
12A.3 Independent legal advice. You are responsible for obtaining independent legal advice from an appropriately qualified and, where required, authorised or regulated legal professional on all matters requiring legal advice or legal services before you sign, execute, complete, implement or otherwise act upon the relevant matter.
12A.4 This includes, without limitation, acquisitions and disposals of land or property; conveyancing and title; contracts; deeds; declarations of trust; leases and licences; shareholder, partnership and commercial agreements; corporate and company-law documents; security documents, charges and guarantees; trusts, estates and succession arrangements; and the legal implementation of reorganisations, restructurings and transactions.
12A.5 Draft documents and specimen wording. As part of a tax or accounting engagement, we may, where appropriate and permitted by law, provide draft wording, specimen documents, templates, heads of terms, tax provisions, suggested amendments, instructions or other material intended to illustrate or facilitate the implementation of our tax or accounting advice.
12A.6 Unless we expressly confirm otherwise in writing, such material is supplied only for tax, accounting or administrative purposes. It is not legal advice and is not a final legal document. Any document or wording prepared, supplied, amended or commented upon by us must be independently reviewed, amended where necessary, approved and, where appropriate, finalised by your independent legal adviser before signature, execution, completion or implementation.
12A.7 The fact that we have prepared, reviewed, commented upon or discussed a document does not mean that we have approved its legal validity, enforceability, interpretation, execution formalities or suitability as a legal instrument.
12A.8 Reserved legal activities. We do not undertake any activity that may lawfully be carried out only by an authorised person. Where implementation requires a reserved legal activity or any other activity requiring legal authorisation, you are responsible for appointing an appropriately authorised legal professional to undertake that work.
12A.9 Where lawyers or other legal professionals are instructed, we are entitled to rely on their advice and on documents prepared or approved by them in relation to legal matters. We do not accept responsibility for the acts, omissions or legal advice of another professional merely because we introduced, recommended, communicated or liaised with that professional.
12A.10 Our tax advice may depend on the legal ownership, rights, obligations and legal effect of the proposed transaction and documentation. If the final legal documents or actual implementation differ from the facts, assumptions or structure on which our tax advice was based, the tax consequences may also differ.
12A.11 You are responsible for ensuring that your legal advisers receive any tax advice that is relevant to their drafting and that the final legal documentation accurately implements the intended structure. If you ask us to review final documents, our review will be limited to the tax and accounting aspects unless expressly agreed otherwise, and will not amount to legal approval.
12A.12 If you choose to proceed, execute a document or implement a transaction without obtaining independent legal advice where legal review is appropriate or has been recommended by us, you do so at your own risk. Subject to any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, we will not be responsible for loss arising from the legal validity, enforceability or effect of the documents or from your failure to obtain appropriate independent legal advice.
12A.13 By instructing us, you acknowledge that the distinction between tax and accounting advice on the one hand and legal advice on the other is material to our engagement and that responsibility for obtaining legal advice remains with you.
13. Intellectual property rights
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we retain copyright and all other intellectual property rights in reports, advice, templates, methodologies, documents and other material created by us in carrying out the engagement, except to the extent that ownership is required by law to vest elsewhere.
Once our relevant fees have been paid, you have a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the final deliverables for the purpose for which they were prepared. You may provide them to your professional advisers where reasonably necessary, subject to the confidentiality and third-party reliance provisions in these terms. No wider reproduction, publication, commercial exploitation or adaptation is permitted without our prior written consent.
14. Interpretation and severability
If any provision of the engagement letter, schedules or these terms is held to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will, so far as possible, be treated as severed or modified only to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.
If there is any conflict between these standard terms and a specific provision in the engagement letter, proposal or schedule of services, the specific provision will take precedence for that engagement.
A failure or delay by either party to exercise a right does not of itself amount to a waiver of that right.
15. Internal disputes within a client
If we become aware of a dispute between the parties who own or are in some way involved in the ownership and management of the business, it should be noted that our client is the business and we would not provide information or services to one party without the express knowledge and permission of all parties. Unless otherwise agreed by all parties we will continue to supply information to the [registered office/normal place of business] for the attention of the [directors/proprietors]. If conflicting advice, information or instructions are received from different directors/principals in the business we will refer the matter back to the board of directors/the partnership and take no further action until the board/partnership has agreed the action to be taken.
16. Investment advice and regulated activities
Investment business and other regulated financial activities are subject to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the regulatory regime administered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Unless expressly stated in the engagement letter, we are not acting as an FCA-authorised investment adviser and our tax or accounting advice must not be treated as a personal recommendation to acquire, dispose of or hold a particular investment or financial product.
ACCA is a Designated Professional Body under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Where our firm holds the relevant ACCA permission, we may be able to undertake a limited range of exempt regulated activities that are incidental to the professional services we provide and are within the applicable ACCA Designated Professional Body Regulations. Where a matter falls outside that permitted scope, we may refer you to an appropriately FCA-authorised person.
You are responsible for obtaining appropriate regulated investment advice before making an investment decision where such advice is required.
17. Lien
Insofar as we are permitted to so by law or professional guidelines, we reserve the right to exercise a lien over all funds, documents and records in our possession relating to all engagements for you until all outstanding fees and disbursements are paid in full.
18. Limitation of liability
We will perform our services with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
Subject to the preceding paragraph and unless a different liability cap is expressly agreed in the engagement letter, our aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with a particular engagement, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, will not exceed the lower of (a) actual quantifiable and directly attributable loss incurred; or (b) two times the total fees paid or payable to us for that engagement. Any cap is intended to apply to the aggregate of all claims arising from the same or substantially the same acts, omissions or circumstances.
Any limitation or exclusion in these terms is subject to the requirements of applicable law, including the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and, where you are acting as a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Where a limitation is not enforceable in a particular case, it will apply to the maximum extent lawfully permitted without invalidating the remainder of this clause.
Loss caused by information, instructions or other persons
We will not be responsible for loss, penalties, surcharges, interest or additional tax arising to the extent caused by inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, late or withheld information; failure to follow our advice; failure to provide instructions or approvals in sufficient time; or the acts or omissions of another adviser, professional, bank, authority, software provider or other third party outside our reasonable control.
Changes in law, practice or circumstances
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, our advice is based on the law, published practice and facts known to us at the date of the advice. We are not responsible for consequences of subsequent changes in law, HMRC practice, judicial decisions or your circumstances after the engagement or advice has been completed, unless we have separately agreed to provide ongoing monitoring or updated advice.
Circumstances beyond our reasonable control
We will not be liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including failures of third-party systems, utilities, communications, government systems or other external services, provided that we take reasonable steps appropriate in the circumstances to mitigate the effect where practicable.
Fraud, concealment and misrepresentation by others
We are not responsible for loss arising from fraud, deliberate concealment, misrepresentation or wilful default by you or another person where the relevant facts were not and, applying the procedures within our agreed scope with reasonable care and skill, should not reasonably have been apparent to us.
Indirect and consequential loss
To the extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for loss of profit, opportunity, goodwill or anticipated savings, except to the extent that such loss was reasonably foreseeable as a direct consequence of our breach and cannot lawfully be excluded.
Proportionate responsibility
Where loss is caused by us together with one or more other persons, our liability will, to the extent permitted by law, be limited to the proportion of the loss that is fairly attributable to our acts or omissions, taking account of each person’s responsibility for the loss.
Unauthorised disclosure or use of our advice
Our advice is prepared for the agreed client and purpose. Subject to applicable law, you will be responsible for reasonable losses, liabilities and costs arising directly from your unauthorised disclosure, publication or use of our advice for another purpose, except to the extent caused by our own breach, negligence, fraud or other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded.
19. Third-party rights and reliance
Our advice, reports and other work are prepared solely for the client identified in the engagement letter and for the purpose stated there. No other person may rely on them unless we expressly agree in writing that the identified third party may do so and on what terms.
We accept no duty of care or responsibility to any third party merely because our work is disclosed or made available to that person. A person who is not a party to our engagement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of it unless the engagement letter expressly states otherwise.
20. Period of engagement and termination
Unless otherwise stated in the engagement letter, our engagement begins when we receive your signed or otherwise clear acceptance of the engagement terms, or when you give us an unequivocal instruction to commence work and we do so. We are not responsible for periods or matters before the engagement begins unless expressly agreed in writing.
Either party may terminate the engagement by giving not less than 21 days’ written notice unless a different notice period is agreed. We may suspend or terminate immediately where you fail to cooperate, fail to provide information or payment required for the work, ask us to act unlawfully or unethically, provide materially misleading information, create an unmanaged conflict of interest, or where continuing to act would breach legal, regulatory, sanctions, anti-money laundering or professional obligations.
Where legal restrictions prevent us from explaining why work has been suspended or the engagement terminated, we may be unable to give full reasons.
On termination we will, where lawful and practicable, seek to agree arrangements for work in progress and outstanding responsibilities. We will have no responsibility for deadlines or events occurring after termination except to the extent expressly agreed in writing or required by law. Fees accrued up to termination remain payable in accordance with clause 11.
20A. Consumer cancellation rights
If you are acting as a consumer and our engagement is a distance or off-premises contract to which the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply, you may have a statutory right to cancel the contract within 14 days after it is entered into. Any statutory cancellation information and model cancellation form required by law will apply in addition to these terms.
If you expressly ask us to begin services during a statutory cancellation period and then cancel before the services are completed, you may be required to pay a proportionate amount for services properly supplied up to cancellation, where the law permits. If the service has been fully performed during the cancellation period after the legally required request and acknowledgement, the statutory cancellation right may cease. Nothing in these terms removes a consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded.
21. Professional rules and statutory obligations
We will observe the bye-laws, regulations, ethical requirements and professional standards of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) that apply to our work. In relation to UK tax work, we will also act in accordance with Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) where applicable.
Our legal and professional obligations may require us to decline an instruction, seek further information, recommend disclosure or correction of an error, cease to act or take another step even where that is not the course preferred by the client. We will not be liable for loss arising solely from proper compliance with a legal, regulatory or professional obligation, subject to any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded.
Where we identify an apparent error or omission in information previously supplied to HMRC or another authority, we will discuss the appropriate corrective action with you, subject to our legal and professional duties.
22. Reliance on advice
We will endeavour to record material advice in writing. Oral comments, informal discussions and preliminary views are not intended to be relied upon as final advice unless and until confirmed by us in writing.
Our advice is based on the facts and assumptions communicated to us and on the law, published guidance and practice reasonably available at the date stated in the advice. You must tell us promptly if any material fact or assumption is incorrect or changes, as this may alter our advice.
Unless we expressly agree to provide continuing or monitoring services, we have no obligation to update advice after it has been given for subsequent changes in legislation, case law, HMRC practice, guidance, rates, reliefs or your circumstances.
Draft advice, working papers, calculations and documents marked or communicated as draft are subject to review and change and must not be relied upon as final advice.
23. Outsourcing and service providers
We may use other suitably qualified professionals, subcontractors and third-party service providers in the UK or overseas to assist with aspects of our work, administration, document processing, secure storage, communications or other support services.
We will take reasonable steps to select appropriate providers and to impose confidentiality, security and data protection obligations appropriate to the services they perform. Where personal data is transferred internationally, we will use an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism where required by UK data protection law.
Outsourcing does not by itself transfer our responsibility for the professional work within our agreed scope. Material professional judgements and final work issued in our name will remain subject to appropriate review by us.
24. Retention of papers and records
You have your own legal responsibility to retain documents and records relevant to your tax and financial affairs. The required period depends on the type of taxpayer, return, transaction and whether an enquiry or other proceeding is open. The following are common minimum periods for returns filed on time, but longer periods may apply:
Individuals, trustees and partnerships with trading, professional, property letting or other business income:
– generally at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for the relevant tax year, and longer where an enquiry remains open or other statutory rules apply.
Individuals and trustees without business income:
– generally at least 22 months after the end of the relevant tax year for an on-time Self Assessment return, subject to longer periods for late returns, enquiries, capital assets and other specific rules.
Companies and other persons within Corporation Tax:
– generally 6 years from the end of the relevant accounting period, subject to longer periods where required by law or where an enquiry, investigation or other matter remains open.
During our work we may receive original documents and records from you or third parties. We will return original documents on request where practicable and where we are not legally or professionally required to retain them.
We will retain our client files and records for periods determined by applicable tax, anti-money laundering, data protection, professional, insurance and limitation requirements and by our document retention policy. We may retain relevant material for longer where reasonably necessary for an enquiry, investigation, litigation, complaint, tax basis evidence, property or capital transaction, legal hold or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
At the end of the applicable retention period we may securely destroy or delete records without further notice, unless a longer period has been agreed or is required by law. You should therefore keep your own copies of all documents you may need in the future.
25. Economic crime, fraud, bribery, tax evasion and sanctions
We maintain policies and procedures designed to support compliance with applicable laws concerning money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing, fraud, bribery and corruption, the criminal facilitation of tax evasion and UK financial and trade sanctions, including relevant requirements under the Bribery Act 2010 and the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
We will not knowingly assist with tax evasion, money laundering, fraud, sanctions evasion, bribery or any other unlawful conduct. We may request information, decline or suspend instructions, terminate the engagement, freeze or refrain from dealing with funds where lawfully required, or make a report to a competent authority where required or permitted by law.
In some circumstances the law may prohibit us from telling you that a report has been made or from explaining why we have taken or not taken a particular step. You agree that we may comply with those restrictions.
26. Confidentiality of our advice and non-disclosure
Our specialist advice, reports, methodologies and supporting materials are confidential and are provided for your use for the agreed purpose. Except where disclosure is required by law or reasonably necessary to your professional advisers for that purpose, you must not publish, circulate, reproduce or provide our advice to a third party without our prior written consent.
Any permitted disclosure to another professional adviser is subject to clause 19: no third party acquires a right to rely on our advice unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing.
Unauthorised disclosure may cause us loss and may prejudice the confidentiality, intellectual property or intended use of our work. We reserve the right to seek any remedy available by law, including injunctive relief and damages where appropriate. Nothing in this clause creates a penalty or excludes any right which cannot lawfully be excluded.
27. Privacy statement, direct marketing and data rights
Our Privacy Statement forms the principal notice explaining how we handle personal data and is available at https://www.churchill-tax-advisers.co.uk/privacy-statement/. You should read it together with clause 8 of these terms.
We may send you communications that are necessary for the administration of your engagement, compliance obligations or the delivery of our services. Where we send direct marketing by electronic means, we will do so in accordance with applicable data protection law and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time without affecting service-related communications.
We do not sell personal data to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
Data protection rights, including rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction and objection, apply subject to the conditions, exemptions and retention requirements in applicable law. In particular, a request for deletion does not require us to erase information that we are legally or professionally required, or otherwise lawfully entitled, to retain.
We may update our Privacy Statement to reflect changes in law, regulation, technology or our processing activities. Where the law requires us to bring a material change to your attention, we will do so.