The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published a new consultation document on plans to introduce new Court and Tribunal fees. This consultation follows on from earlier measures that saw the introduction of fees for some Tribunals. Currently there are no fees charged in either the Tax Chamber or the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery). The new proposals seek interested parties' views on the introduction of new fees. These fees, if introduced, will apply to tax appeals.

The estimated full cost of the First and Upper Tiers of the Tax Chamber was £8.7m in 2013–14. The MOJ estimates that these proposals would generate a cost recovery percentage of around 26% after remissions across the First-tier and Upper Tier combined. The remainder of the cost of running the service will continue to be borne by the taxpayer. The proposed fees will depend on the complexity of the appeal.

For filing an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal the proposed fees are as follows:

• £50 to issue paper and basic cases;
• £200 for standard and complex cases.

Assuming the appeal proceeds to a hearing the proposed fees for the hearing itself are:

• Basic appeal £200;
• Standard appeal £500;
• Complex appeal £1,000.

There will also be additional fees to seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal; a fee of £100 to seek permission to appeal, £200 for a permission hearing (where permission has been refused on the papers) and £2,000 for a substantive appeal hearing. The consultation document is open for responses until 15 September 2015.