Privacy
Policy

1.1 Personal Information

When you engage our services, we collect personal information necessary to provide professional tax advisory and HMRC investigation defence services:

• Full name, date of birth, and contact details
• National Insurance number and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• Employment history and income information
• Tax returns and HMRC correspondence
• Bank account details for fee payments
• Immigration status (where relevant to tax planning)

1.2 Sensitive Personal Data

In certain cases, we may process special category data under GDPR Article 9, including:

• Health information (relevant to inheritance tax planning)
• Criminal proceedings data (for COP 9 criminal defence cases)
• Biometric data (for identity verification purposes)

We only process sensitive data where we have your explicit consent or where necessary for legal proceedings.

1.3 Technical Information

When you visit our website, our hosting provider processes your IP address in order to deliver the pages to you and to protect the site against automated abuse. The same protection applies when you submit our contact form.

Our website analytics are separate from this and do not use your IP address or identify you. Section 6 sets out in full what is recorded when you visit, and for how long.

2.1 Contractual Necessity

• Providing tax advisory and compliance services
• Preparing and filing tax returns with HMRC
• Representing you in HMRC investigations (COP 8, COP 9)
• Estate and succession planning services
• Immigration and emigration tax planning

2.2 Legal Obligations

• Compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations
• Reporting to HMRC where legally required
• Retention of records as required by professional bodies (ATT/CIOT, ACCA)
• Responding to court orders and legal process

2.3 Legitimate Interests

• Protecting against fraud and maintaining professional indemnity
• Improving our services through client feedback analysis
• Sending relevant tax updates and legislative changes
• Marketing our services (with opt-out available at any time)

3.1 Professional Partners

We may share your information with trusted professional partners when necessary for your case:

• Criminal defence solicitors - For COP 9 criminal defence representation
• Barristers and QCs - For specialist legal opinions in tax litigation
• Expert Witnesses - For forensic accounting and valuation services

All third-party professionals are bound by the same confidentiality obligations and data protection standards as Parousia Limited.

3.2 Regulatory Bodies

We may disclose information to:

• HMRC (where required by law or with your authorization)
• Professional regulatory bodies (ATT/CIOT, ACCA) for compliance monitoring
• Courts and tribunals (in response to legal proceedings)
• National Crime Agency (for Suspicious Activity Reports under AML law)

3.3 Service Providers

We use carefully vetted service providers who process data on our behalf:

• Cloud storage providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure) - UK/EEA data centres
• Tax software platforms (for compliance and return preparation)
• Document management systems (encrypted storage)
• Communication platforms (encrypted email and video conferencing)

All service providers are bound by Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) compliant with GDPR Article 28.

4.1 Retention Periods

We retain your personal data for the following periods:

• Active client files: Duration of engagement plus 7 years (HMRC time limits)
• COP 9 investigation files: 10 years from case closure
• AML verification records: 5 years from end of business relationship
• Financial records: 6 years (Companies Act requirement)
• Marketing communications: Until you unsubscribe or 3 years of inactivity

4.2 Security Measures

We implement robust security measures to protect your data:

• Encryption: AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit
• Access Controls: Role-based access with multi-factor authentication
• Physical Security: Secure premises with restricted access and CCTV
• Backup Systems: Daily encrypted backups stored in UK data centres
• Staff Training: Annual data protection and security awareness training
• Incident Response: 24-hour breach detection and response protocols

4.3 International Transfers

We primarily store data within the UK and EEA. Where international transfers are necessary (e.g., for clients with overseas assets), we ensure adequate safeguards through:

• EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
• Transfers to countries with adequacy decisions from the UK Information Commissioner
• Specific consent where required

6.1 Cookies

This website does not set cookies. We use no cookies for session management, advertising, profiling or tracking, and we place no third-party advertising or social media trackers on our pages. Because nothing is stored on your device, there is no cookie consent banner and no consent choices for you to make.

6.2 Website Analytics

To understand how our website is used and how quickly its pages load, we use Vercel Web Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights. Both are cookieless and privacy-oriented, and neither identifies you:

• No cookies or tracking identifiers: your visit is not linked to your IP address, and cannot be followed across other websites
• What is recorded: the page visited, the page that referred you, approximate location, device type, operating system, browser, and page performance measurements
• Retention: visitor session information is automatically discarded after 24 hours; only aggregated statistics are kept
• No Google Analytics: we do not use it, and no analytics data is shared with Google or used for advertising

6.3 Your Choices

As we set no cookies, there is nothing for you to accept, refuse or withdraw. You may still block or delete cookies for any website through your browser settings. If you would like to know more about the information collected when you visit this site, please contact us using the details below.