As the umbrella company market gears up for a regulatory shift from April 2026, HMRC continues to send clear signals that stamping out tax avoidance and all forms of non-compliance is an ongoing focus.

So far in September, a further five companies have been published on HMRC's list of known tax avoidance schemes. However, a significant step in the latest round of public naming is the inclusion of a practising barrister and qualified solicitor Setu Kamal in connection to four of these, namely:

• MLG Pay Limited
• The Umbrella Agency Limited
• Veqta Ltd
• Vision HR Solutions Ltd

HMRC states that it: "Suspects Setu Kamal is responsible for the design of the scheme arrangements and has created and supplied contract and agreement templates which are integral to the implementation of the relevant arrangements."

The arrangements in question enable workers to keep more of their pay by avoiding paying Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions. However, by not paying the correct taxes owed, these workers are likely to face retrospective tax bills, interest and potentially also penalties.

It is not the first time that legal professionals have been named. In May 2025, HMRC ordered struck-off solicitor and former barrister Paul Baxendale-Walker to stop promoting two tax avoidance schemes, which the PCA previously wrote about, but this is the first instance of naming a practising barrister.

By taking this step, HMRC is reinforcing its clear message to those on the wrong side of tax fraud that its crackdown is in full swing and that it will not hold back from naming individual names behind schemes 'no matter their status'.

Jonathan Smith, director of counter avoidance at HMRC, said: "Legal professionals have a position of trust and responsibility - they shouldn't be involved in creating schemes that purport to let people avoid paying tax that funds our vital public services."

HMRC is looking to support individuals who have used these schemes to exit them, urging them to contact HMRC and bring their tax position up to date.  

The PCA and HMRC

The PCA remains in dialogue with HMRC on the matter of accreditation in the sector as a means of improving overall compliance. Most recently, the PCA met with HMRC representatives in August 2025 to explore the role of accreditation.

Paul Newsham, CEO of the PCA, says: "Whilst there are several well-established accreditors in the market, self-regulation has not worked so far and has become a closed shop. In certain sectors frameworks dictate that any umbrella companies must hold accreditation from one or more of these accreditors, and yet fraudulent activity remains rife. We remain in conversation with HMRC to explore how the PCA can help.

"As a not-for-profit accreditor of umbrella companies, we have a unique audit model and ethical approach that makes it easy to identify compliant providers and eliminate risk."

Read more about the PCA's rigorous audit here.