Pure Tax Investigations vs Vendor Space

Specialist HMRC Insider Expertise

The firm is led by Amit Puri, a former senior HMRC Tax Inspector with over two decades of direct experience. This provides clients with an unparalleled strategic advantage, as the team possesses detailed, operational knowledge of HMRC's internal methodologies, investigation tactics, and decision-making processes. This insider perspective is applied to anticipate HMRC actions, formulate robust defence strategies, and negotiate from a position of informed strength, ensuring pragmatic and commercially focused outcomes.

Comprehensive Investigation Defence Services

Pure Tax Investigations offers a full-spectrum defence service covering the entire hierarchy of HMRC interventions. This includes managing routine compliance checks, complex cross-tax enquiries into large businesses, and the most serious civil fraud investigations conducted under Code of Practice 9 (COP9). The service encompasses handling HMRC Information Notices, engaging in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and representing clients at Tax Tribunals, providing end-to-end support throughout the dispute lifecycle.

Proactive Tax Disclosure Management

The firm specialises in managing voluntary disclosures to HMRC through its dedicated disclosure facilities. This includes expert guidance and submission management for the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) for offshore matters, the Let Property Campaign (LPC) for property income, and disclosures related to crypto assets, Indian interest income, and offshore trusts. This proactive service aims to regularise a client's tax position, minimise penalties, and achieve finality with HMRC before a formal investigation is launched.

Bespoke Advisory for Private Clients & Complex Structures

Beyond investigations, Pure Tax Investigations provides tailored advisory services for private clients with complex affairs. This includes specialist analysis and planning concerning residence and domicile status, UK property tax, trusts, and Inheritance Tax. The service evaluates each client's individual situation to ensure tax affairs are structured efficiently and meet commercial and succession aspirations, providing strategic advice that complements their defensive capabilities.

Centralized Vendor & Sponsor Dashboard

The platform provides a single, intuitive dashboard that serves as a command center for all event management activities. It displays real-time, at-a-glance metrics including total vendors, booths filled, and revenue collected. Organizers can manage vendor applications, statuses (Confirmed, Pending, Waitlist), categories, and booth assignments from one screen. Critically, sponsor management is fully integrated into this same dashboard, enabling the creation of tiered sponsorship packages and tracking of deliverables alongside standard vendor operations, eliminating the need to juggle separate systems.

Interactive Booth Mapping & Management

Vendor Space features a visual, interactive booth mapping tool that transforms floor plan management. Organizers can create digital layouts and assign vendors via drag-and-drop functionality. The map provides real-time visual indicators for booth status (Available, Reserved, Taken, Premium), automatically detects assignment conflicts, and shows overall fill rates. This feature replaces manual, error-prone methods like paper charts or static spreadsheets, ensuring accurate spatial planning and maximizing venue utilization.

Integrated Digital Contracts & Payments

This feature streamlines the legal and financial workflow by integrating digital agreements with Stripe-powered payment processing. Organizers can send custom contracts with built-in e-signature capabilities directly through the platform, tracking the status of each document (e.g., Signed, Pending). Payments can be collected instantly upon vendor registration or contract signing, with real-time tracking of all transactions. The system automatically calculates and applies the platform's 6% transaction fee, providing clear financial reporting.

Self-Service Vendor Portal & Analytics

Vendor Space includes a dedicated, branded portal where vendors can apply, submit information via custom forms, pay fees, sign contracts, and manage their participation details autonomously. This self-service model drastically reduces organizer administrative time. Complementing this, the platform offers a robust analytics module that provides real-time insights into key performance indicators such as revenue trends, vendor participation rates, booth fill percentages, and sponsor contribution metrics, enabling data-driven decision-making.

Defence Against Code of Practice 9 (COP9) Investigations

This use case involves representing clients suspected of serious tax fraud by HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service. Under COP9, clients are offered a contractual opportunity to make a complete disclosure of all deliberate irregularities. Pure Tax Investigations provides critical guidance through this high-stakes process, managing the disclosure, negotiating with investigators, and working to secure a civil settlement in lieu of criminal prosecution, thereby protecting the client's liberty and reputation.

Managing HMRC Compliance Checks and Enquiries

This scenario covers defending businesses and individuals undergoing routine HMRC compliance checks or more detailed enquiries. These can involve questions about tax returns, R&D tax credit claims, or specific transaction details. The firm intervenes to handle all correspondence, ensures client responses are accurate and legally sound, and works to contain the scope of the enquiry to prevent it from escalating into a wider, more intrusive investigation.

Facilitating a Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) Submission

This use case applies to clients with undeclared offshore income or gains who wish to come forward voluntarily. Pure Tax Investigations manages the entire WDF process: conducting a detailed analysis of historical liabilities, calculating tax, interest, and potential penalties, preparing the comprehensive disclosure report, and submitting it to HMRC. This structured approach aims to achieve a final settlement and minimise the risk of a subsequent criminal investigation.

Resolving Complex Corporate Tax Disputes

This involves representing large corporates or sophisticated business entities facing complex, cross-tax investigations by HMRC's Customer Compliance Group or Large Business directorate. These enquiries are often multi-faceted, covering Corporation Tax, VAT, Transfer Pricing, and other areas. The firm provides technical analysis, project-manages the response, engages in specialist negotiations, and utilises mechanisms like ADR to resolve disputes efficiently and commercially.

Seasonal Craft Fairs and Artisan Markets

Organizers of recurring craft fairs utilize Vendor Space to manage high volumes of artisan applicants efficiently. The platform handles custom application forms for jurying, digital contract distribution for accepted vendors, and streamlined payment collection for booth fees. The visual booth map is essential for assigning spaces to different craft categories (e.g., pottery, textiles), while integrated sponsor management handles partnerships with local businesses, all from a single interface.

Large-Scale Food Festivals and Pop-Up Markets

For food-centric events with complex logistics, Vendor Space manages diverse vendor needs including health permit tracking, electrical requirements, and menu submissions through custom forms. The payment system handles varying booth pricing tiers, and the sponsor management module secures and tracks partnerships with beverage companies or equipment suppliers. The centralized dashboard provides a clear overview of vendor mix and financials critical for event success.

Professional Trade Shows and Job Fairs

Trade show organizers leverage the platform's professional tools to manage corporate exhibitors and sponsors. Features for tiered sponsorship packages (Gold, Silver, Bronze) with detailed deliverable tracking are crucial. Digital contracts formalize agreements, and the vendor portal allows exhibitors to upload logos, marketing materials, and manage representative passes. The analytics suite provides data on exhibitor ROI and attendee engagement metrics for post-event reporting.

Community Farmers Markets and Holiday Markets

Community event organizers benefit from the platform's simplicity and cost-effectiveness. The free-to-use model is ideal for non-profits or small organizations. They can quickly set up events, collect payments from local farmers and makers, and use the booth map to plan seasonal layouts. The system automates communication and reminders, saving volunteer hours, while the sponsor module helps manage partnerships with local banks or community groups supporting the event.

Pure Tax Investigations is a specialist advisory firm that provides expert defence and resolution services for businesses, entrepreneurs, and private clients facing scrutiny from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The firm operates as an independent, expert buffer between clients and the tax authority, offering robust representation during all forms of tax disputes. Its core value proposition is delivering certainty, discretion, and commercial results through a deep, pragmatic understanding of complex tax affairs and HMRC's operational methodologies. The service is specifically engineered for those undergoing routine compliance checks, complex cross-tax investigations into large corporates, or serious civil fraud investigations under Codes of Practice 8 and 9. Led by Amit Puri, a former senior HMRC Tax Inspector with over 20 years of experience, the team leverages insider procedural knowledge to navigate the intrusive and high-pressure environment of tax enquiries. Pure Tax Investigations also specialises in managing voluntary disclosures through formal facilities like the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) and the Let Property Campaign (LPC), aiming to regularise clients' tax positions while preserving wealth and achieving finality. The firm's approach is tailored, analytical, and designed to provide peace of mind by handling the technical complexities of HMRC interaction.

Vendor Space is a comprehensive, all-in-one vendor and sponsor management platform engineered specifically for event organizers. It is designed to eliminate the operational chaos associated with managing vendors by replacing disparate tools like spreadsheets, email threads, and manual payment trackers with a single, unified command center. The platform digitizes and consolidates the entire vendor lifecycle, from initial application and custom form creation to booth mapping, digital contract execution, and integrated payment processing. A key differentiator is its inclusion of sponsor management within the same ecosystem, allowing for seamless coordination between paid partnerships and vendor operations. Built by an event organizer, the interface prioritizes intuitive usability without sacrificing powerful functionality. Vendor Space operates on a transparent, pay-as-you-go model: the platform itself is completely free to use, with revenue generated solely through a flat 6% transaction fee applied to processed payments. This approach removes barriers like monthly subscriptions, hidden costs, and binding contracts. The core value proposition is to professionalize event operations, drastically reduce administrative overhead by an estimated 80%, and enhance the experience for both organizers and vendors through centralized, automated workflows.

What is the main difference between a Code of Practice 8 (COP8) and a Code of Practice 9 (COP9) investigation?

A COP8 investigation is used by HMRC for cases involving suspected tax avoidance or complex technical issues where there is no suspicion of deliberate fraud. It is a civil investigation focused on establishing the correct tax position. In contrast, a COP9 investigation is invoked where HMRC suspects deliberate tax fraud (fraudulent evasion of tax). COP9 offers the taxpayer a contractual opportunity to make a full disclosure and secure a civil financial settlement, with HMRC agreeing not to pursue a criminal investigation for the disclosed offences.

When should I consider making a voluntary disclosure to HMRC?

You should consider making a voluntary disclosure proactively if you have undeclared income, gains, or errors in your tax affairs, especially before HMRC contacts you about them. This is particularly crucial for offshore matters, undisclosed property income, or crypto gains. A voluntary disclosure, managed through the correct facility (like the WDF or LPC), typically results in lower penalties than if HMRC discovers the irregularities first. It also significantly reduces the risk of a criminal prosecution.

How can Pure Tax Investigations help if I have already received an HMRC Information Notice?

An HMRC Information Notice is a formal legal request for information or documents. Ignoring it can lead to significant penalties. Pure Tax Investigations can provide immediate expertise to assess the validity and scope of the notice, advise on your legal rights and obligations, and manage the compliant gathering and submission of information. Their intervention ensures the response is precise and does not inadvertently provide HMRC with grounds to widen the enquiry beyond its original intent.

Do you only handle investigations, or can you provide proactive tax advice?

While Pure Tax Investigations is renowned for its defence and dispute resolution services, it also offers proactive, bespoke advisory services, particularly for private clients and businesses with complex structures. This includes planning around residence and domicile, UK property tax, trusts, and Inheritance Tax. The firm's deep understanding of HMRC's compliance focus allows it to provide strategic advice that is robust and designed to withstand scrutiny, thereby helping to prevent future disputes.

How quickly can I set up my first event?

Most organizers can have their first event fully configured and live within 15 minutes. The process involves creating the event, configuring booth options and pricing tiers, and then immediately sharing the generated vendor registration page. The platform is designed for immediate usability without extensive training or complex setup procedures, allowing you to begin managing vendors almost instantly.

What is the cost structure for using Vendor Space?

Vendor Space operates on a completely free-to-use model with no monthly subscriptions, setup fees, or binding contracts. The platform generates revenue solely through a flat 6% transaction fee applied only when you successfully collect a payment from a vendor or sponsor. You pay nothing to create events, manage vendors, use contracts, or access any other feature until you start collecting revenue.

How does the integrated payment processing work?

Payments are powered by Stripe, a leading global payment processor, which is built directly into the Vendor Space platform. This integration allows vendors to pay securely via credit or debit card during the application process. Organizers see real-time tracking of all transactions, and funds, minus the 6% platform fee, are deposited directly into their connected Stripe account according to Stripe's standard payout schedule.

Can Vendor Space integrate with other tools I use?

Yes, Vendor Space offers robust integration capabilities. Stripe is natively built-in for payments. Furthermore, through a Zapier integration, the platform can connect with over 7,000 other applications. This allows you to automate workflows, such as pushing new vendor data to a CRM like HubSpot, syncing payment records to accounting software like QuickBooks, or triggering notifications in communication tools like Slack or Gmail.

Pure Tax Investigations is a specialist advisory firm operating within the tax dispute resolution and HMRC investigation defence sector. It provides expert representation for businesses and individuals facing complex enquiries from HM Revenue & Customs, leveraging deep procedural knowledge to achieve commercial settlements. Clients may seek alternatives for several common reasons. These can include budgetary constraints, as specialist defence services represent a significant investment. Others may require a different service scope, such as more general tax advisory support without a specific focus on disputes, or they might prioritise a firm with a different geographical presence or a particular size structure. When evaluating an alternative provider, key criteria should include the depth of direct HMRC experience within the team, proven expertise in the specific type of enquiry you face (such as COP9 investigations), and a clear methodology for client communication and strategic defence. The firm's track record in achieving negotiated settlements and its understanding of HMRC's operational practices are paramount.

Vendor Space is a specialized vendor and sponsor management platform within the business and finance software category. It is engineered to consolidate the entire vendor lifecycle for event organizers, replacing disparate tools like spreadsheets and email with a unified operational dashboard. Users may seek alternatives for several technical reasons. These include a requirement for different pricing structures beyond transaction-based models, a need for integration with existing enterprise resource planning or accounting systems, or a demand for feature sets that extend beyond event-specific vendor management into broader procurement or inventory control. When evaluating alternative solutions, key technical specifications to assess include the platform's core architecture for data centralization, its application programming interface for third-party software connectivity, the granularity of its user permission and role-based access controls, and the transparency of its total cost of ownership calculation, encompassing all subscription, transaction, and implementation fees.