Jivaan Bennett

Jivaan has over a decade of experience practising tax and commercial law both in the Commonwealth Caribbean and in the United Kingdom. He has advised on tax structuring in the context of cross-border transactions and has been involved in the drafting and negotiation of the relevant tax-related contractual documents for both corporate and finance transactions.

Jivaan’s day-to-day practice is a mix of contentious tax matters (litigation and investigations acting for the taxpayer against a tax authority) and tax-related commercial matters. In respect of the latter, he advises on potential contentious issues in commercial/corporate transactions as well as assisting clients with the bringing and defence of post-acquisition claims (warranty, tax indemnity and other similar claims). He also advises on tax issues in the context of commercial litigation and arbitration.

He qualified into and spent three years as an associate in the firm’s UK corporate tax team. In this role he advised on the UK tax aspects of a range of cross-border M&A, restructuring and financing transactions. 

Work highlights

Jivaan’s recent matters include:

• Acting for Scottish Power in its successful tax appeal against an HMRC corporation tax assessment relating to deductibility of a settlement payment made to OFGEM.
• Acting for a multinational conglomerate in respect of a transfer pricing enquiry by HMRC.
• Acting on a post-M&A dispute for the purchaser of a Latin American bank in an ICC Arbitration in relation to various breaches of indemnity and warranty claims.
• Acting for e& on its USD400m investment in Careem Super App.
• Advising an international business services provider on its “once-in-a-generation” global corporate restructuring.

Member of the Race Action Plan Steering Committee

Trustee, Project ReMake

Co-Chair, Young International Fiscal Association Network

Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Social Development Committee,  International Bar Association

Volunteer, Free Representation Unit 

 

Jivaan read for an undergraduate degree in English law and French law at King’s College London and Universite de Paris-1 (La Sorbonne). He holds a Master of Laws in International Tax Law also from King’s College London. 

Post-Financial Crisis Construction of Taxing Statutes: Filling State Coffers – a Commonwealth Caribbean Perspective (Caribbean Law Review, Jan 2014) (cited with approval by the Supreme Court of Belize in UC Trading Company v Commissioner of Sales Tax (May 2021)).

The New 45% Corporation Tax on Restitution Interest paid by HMRC (Tax Journal, November 2015).

Waivers of VAT liability pursuant to creditors’ arrangements and compatibility with EU Law (Insolvency Intelligence, Nov 2016).