Luigi leads BKL’s VAT and Indirect Taxes team, advising clients in London, across the UK and internationally.
With more than 25 years’ experience as a VAT specialist, he helps businesses and not-for-profit organisations navigate one of the most technical areas of UK tax legislation.
In an environment where VAT treatment looks increasingly ‘grey’, HMRC are unwilling to provide binding rulings and often challenge VAT treatments seemingly supported by their own guidance, Luigi’s vital contribution to our clients, is providing certainty.
Luigi supports UK and overseas businesses and not-for-profit organisations across the full range of VAT and indirect tax issues including VAT registration and deregistration, VAT planning, preparation of VAT returns, HMRC enquiries and VAT inspections, and agreeing special VAT treatments with HMRC. He makes sure clients are compliant, are taking advantage of available VAT reliefs and are maximising VAT recovery.
His specialist areas include VAT recovery and attribution methods, partial exemption, and business/non-business apportionments – technical issues that frequently affect organisations in the property, financial services, charity and education sectors. Luigi’s regular VAT health checks help clients identify risks and uncover opportunities to improve VAT recovery.
Clients value Luigi’s proactive, commercial approach and his track record of maximising VAT recovery without putting existing HMRC relationships at risk. He joined BKL as a partner in 2025 and also advises accountancy practices that do not have their own in-house indirect tax specialist.
Luigi is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) Indirect Taxes Committee, where he shares expertise with fellow indirect tax professionals. He also sits on DFK International’s Tax Special Interest Group, exchanging specialist VAT knowledge with accountants and tax advisers across a global network of more than 200 member firms. Luigi is a long-term member of, and regular contributor to, the Charity Tax Group (CTG). As a member of CTG, he was recently involved with negotiating the new (expanded) zero rate for donated goods with HMRC and HM Treasury. In addition, Luigi authored Tolley’s VAT in the EU which is an important guide to VAT compliance within each of the EU member states.
BKL’s VAT and Indirect Tax team was shortlisted in the Best VAT/Indirect Tax Team category at the 2023 Taxation Awards.
How Luigi helps clients
- VAT registration and deregistration
- VAT planning and structuring
- Preparation and review of VAT returns
- Partial exemption methods and special method (PESM) negotiations with HMRC
- Business / non-business apportionment reviews
- VAT recovery and attribution method reviews
- VAT health checks to identify risks and recovery opportunities
- HMRC VAT enquiries, inspections and disputes
- Agreeing special VAT treatments with HMRC
- International VAT – guidance on the rules and requirements of EU countries
- Staff VAT training tailored to the client’s business
- Outsourced VAT consultancy for accountancy practices