Finance (No. 2) Bill (HC Bill 155)

(2) In relation to an offence committed before the coming into force of
section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the reference in
subsection (1)(a) to 51 weeks is to be read as a reference to 6 months.

106H Regulations under sections 106E and 106F

(1) 5This section makes provision about regulations under sections 106E
and 106F.

(2) If the regulations contain a reference to a document or any provision of
a document and it appears to the Treasury that it is necessary or
expedient for the reference to be construed as a reference to that
10document or that provision as amended from time to time, the
regulations may make express provision to that effect.

(3) The regulations—

(a) may make different provision for different cases, and

(b) may include incidental, supplemental, consequential and
15transitional provision and savings.

(4) The regulations are to be made by statutory instrument.

(5) An instrument containing the regulations is subject to annulment in
pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.”

(2) The amendment made by this section comes into force on such day as the
20Treasury may by regulations made by statutory instrument appoint.

(3) The regulations—

(a) may appoint different days for different purposes, and

(b) may include incidental, supplemental, consequential and transitional
provision and savings.

(4) 25The amendment made by this section does not have effect in relation to—

(a) a failure to give a notice required by section 7 of TMA 1970,

(b) a failure to make and deliver a return required by section 8 of TMA
1970, or

(c) a return required by section 8 that contains an inaccuracy,

30if the notice or return relates to a tax year before that in which the amendment
comes into force.

Part 11 Administration, enforcement and supplementary powers

Assessment and returns

155 35Simple assessments

(1) Schedule 23 contains provisions about simple assessments by HMRC.

(2) Paragraphs 1 to 8 of that Schedule have effect in relation to the 2016-17 tax year
and subsequent years.

(3) Paragraph 9 of that Schedule comes into force on such day as the Treasury may
40appoint by regulations made by statutory instrument.

(4) Regulations under subsection (3) may—

(a) commence paragraph 9 generally or only for specified purposes, and

(b) appoint different days for different purposes.

156 Time limit for self assessment tax returns

(1) 5TMA 1970 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 34 (ordinary time limit of 4 years for assessments), after subsection
(2) insert—

“(3) In this section “assessment” does not include a self-assessment.”

(3) After that section insert—

“34A 10Ordinary time limit for self-assessments

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a self assessment contained in a
return under section 8 or 8A may be made and delivered at any time not
more than 4 years after the end of the year of assessment to which it
relates.

(2) 15Nothing in subsection (1) prevents—

(a) a person who has received a notice under section 8 or 8A within
that period of 4 years from delivering a return including a self-
assessment within the period of 3 months beginning with the
date of the notice,

(b) 20a person in respect of whom a determination under section 28C
has been made from making a self-assessment in accordance
with that section within the period allowed by subsection (5)(a)
or (b) of that section.

(3) Subsection (1) has effect subject to the following provisions of this Act
25and to any other provisions of the Taxes Acts allowing a longer period
in any particular class of case.

(4) This section has effect in relation to self-assessments for a year of
assessment earlier than 2012-13 as if—

(a) in subsection (1) for the words from “not more” to the end there
30were substituted “on or before 5 April 2017”, and

(b) in subsection (2)(a) for the words “within that period of 4 years”
there were substituted “on or before 5 April 2017.””

157 HMRC power to withdraw notice to file a tax return

(1) Section 8B of TMA 1970 (withdrawal of notice under section 8 or 8A) is
35amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (2) for the words from “the person” to the end substitute “HMRC
may withdraw the notice (whether at the request of the person or otherwise)”.

(3) In subsection (3) for “no request may be made” substitute “the notice may not
be withdrawn”.

(4) 40In subsection (4) omit “, on receiving a request,”.

(5) In subsection (6)(b) for “agree with the person” substitute “determine”.

(6) In paragraph 17A of Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009 (penalty for failure to
make returns etc), in sub-paragraph (1)(b) for the words from the beginning to
“withdraw” substitute “HMRC decide to give P a notice under section 8B
withdrawing”.

(7) 5The amendments made by this section have effect in relation to any notice
under section 8 or 8A of TMA 1970 given in relation to the 2014-15 tax year or
any subsequent year (and it is immaterial whether the notice was given before
or after the passing of this Act).

Judgment debts

158 10Rate of interest applicable to judgment debts etc: Scotland

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a sum is payable to or by the Commissioners under a decree or extract
issued in any court proceedings relating to a taxation matter (a “tax-
related judgment debt”), and

(b) 15interest in relation to the tax-related judgment debt is included in or
payable under the decree or extract.

(2) In a case where the rate of interest in relation to the tax-related judgment debt
is stated in the decree or extract, the rate stated in relation to that debt may not
exceed (and may not be capable of exceeding)—

(a) 20in the case of a sum payable to the Commissioners, the late payment
interest rate, and

(b) in the case of a sum payable by the Commissioners, the special
repayment rate.

(3) In a case where the rate of interest in relation to the tax-related judgment debt
25is not stated in the decree or extract but provided for by an enactment or rule
of court (whenever passed or made), that enactment or rule is to have effect in
relation to the debt as if for the rate for which it provides there were
substituted—

(a) in the case of a sum payable to the Commissioners, the late payment
30interest rate, and

(b) in the case of a sum payable by the Commissioners, the special
repayment rate.

(4) This section has effect in relation to interest for periods beginning on or after
the day on which this Act is passed, regardless of—

(a) 35the date of the decree or extract in question, and

(b) whether interest begins to run on or after the day on which this Act is
passed, or began to run before that date.

(5) In this section—

• “the Commissioners” means the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s
  40Revenue and Customs;

• “enactment” includes an Act of the Scottish Parliament or an instrument
  made under such an Act;

• “late payment interest rate” means the rate provided for in regulations
  made by the Treasury under section 103(1) of FA 2009;

Finance (No. 2) BillPage 243

• “special repayment rate” has the same meaning as in section 52 of
  F(No.2)A 2015 (and subsections (7) to (10) of that section apply for the
  purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section);

• “taxation matter” means anything the collection and management of
  5which is the responsibility of the Commissioners (or was the
  responsibility of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or
  Commissioners of Customs and Excise);

• “working day” means any day other than a non-business day as defined
  in section 92 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882.

(6) 10This section extends to Scotland only.

159 Rate of interest applicable to judgment debts etc: Northern Ireland

(1) This section applies if a sum payable to or by the Commissioners under a
judgment or order given or made in any court proceedings relating to a
taxation matter (a “tax-related judgment debt”) carries interest.

(2) 15In a case where the rate of interest is specified in the judgment (in the case of
the High Court) or directed by the judge (in the case of a county court), the rate
specified or directed in relation to that debt may not exceed (and may not be
capable of exceeding)—

(a) in the case of a sum payable to the Commissioners, the late payment
20interest rate, and

(b) in the case of a sum payable by the Commissioners, the special
repayment rate.

(3) In a case where the rate of interest in relation to the tax-related judgment debt
is not specified in the judgment or directed by the judge but provided for by an
25enactment or rule of court (whenever passed or made), that enactment or rule
is to have effect in relation to the debt as if for the rate for which it provides
there were substituted—

(a) in the case of a sum payable to the Commissioners, the late payment
interest rate, and

(b) 30in the case of a sum payable by the Commissioners, the special
repayment rate.

(4) This section has effect in relation to interest for periods beginning on or after
the day on which this Act is passed, regardless of—

(a) the date of the judgment or order in question, and

(b) 35whether interest begins to run on or after the day on which this Act is
passed, or began to run before that date.

(5) In this section—

• “the Commissioners” means the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s
  Revenue and Customs;

• 40“enactment” includes Northern Ireland legislation or an instrument made
  under such legislation;

• “late payment interest rate” means the rate provided for in regulations
  made by the Treasury under section 103(1) of FA 2009;

• “special repayment rate” has the same meaning as in section 52 of F(No.2)
  45A 2015 (and subsections (7) to (10) of that section apply for the purposes
  of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section);

Finance (No. 2) BillPage 244

• “taxation matter” means anything the collection and management of
  which is the responsibility of the Commissioners (or was the
  responsibility of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or
  Commissioners of Customs and Excise);

• 5“working day” means any day other than a non-business day as defined
  in section 92 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882.

(6) This section extends to Northern Ireland only.

160 Rate of interest applicable to judgment debts etc: England and Wales

(1) In section 52 of F(No. 2)A 2015 (rates of interest applicable to judgment debts
10etc in taxation matters: England and Wales), in subsection (15), in the definition
of “taxation matter” omit “, other than national insurance contributions,”.

(2) This section has effect in relation to interest for periods beginning on or after
the day on which this Act is passed, regardless of—

(a) the date of the judgment or order in question, and

(b) 15whether interest begins to run on or after the day on which this Act is
passed, or began to run before that date.

(3) This section extends to England and Wales only.

Enforcement powers

161 Gift aid: power to impose penalties on charities and intermediaries

(1) 20At the end of section 428 of ITA 2007 insert—

“(5) The regulations may also make provision—

(a) for the imposition of a penalty of a specified amount (which
must not exceed £3000) for a failure to comply with a specified
requirement imposed by the regulations,

(b) 25for the assessment and recovery of the penalty (which may
include provision about the reduction of the penalty in specified
circumstances), and

(c) conferring a right of appeal against a decision that a penalty is
payable.”

(2) 30The amendment made by this section comes into force on such day as the
Treasury may by regulations made by statutory instrument appoint.

162 Proceedings under customs and excise Acts: prosecuting authority

(1) Part 11 of CEMA 1979 (arrest of persons, forfeiture and legal proceedings) is
amended as set out in subsections (2) and (3).

(2) 35In section 146A(7) (definition of prosecuting authority)—

(a) in the opening words, for “prosecution” substitute “prosecuting”;

(b) in paragraph (b), omit “the Commissioners or”;

(c) in paragraph (c), for “the Commissioners” substitute “the Director of
Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland”.

(3) In section 150(1) (joint and several liability), for the words from “the Director”
to “Ireland)” substitute “prosecuting authority (within the meaning of section
146A)”.

(4) In consequence of subsection (3), in Schedule 4 to the Commissioners for
5Revenue and Customs Act 2005, omit paragraph 25.

(5) The amendments made by this section apply in relation to proceedings
commenced on or after the day on which this Act is passed.

163 Detention and seizure under CEMA 1979: notice requirements etc

(1) CEMA 1979 is amended as follows.

(2) 10Schedule 2A (detention of things as liable to forfeiture) is amended as set out
in subsections (3) and (4).

(3) In paragraph 3(2) (exceptions to requirement of notice of detention)—

(a) omit the “or” at the end of paragraph (b), and after that paragraph
insert—

“(ba) 15a person who has (or appears to have) possession or
control of the thing being detained,”;

(b) in paragraph (c), after “on” insert “or from”;

(c) at the end insert “, or

(d) in the case of any thing detained on or from a vehicle,
20the driver of the vehicle.”

(4) In paragraph 4(2) (unauthorised removal or disposal of things detained:
definition of “responsible person”), for paragraphs (a) and (b) substitute—

“(a) the person whose offence or suspected offence occasioned the
detention,

(b) 25the owner or any of the owners of the thing detained or any
servant or agent of such an owner,

(c) a person who has (or appears to have) possession or control
of the thing being detained,

(d) in the case of any thing detained on a ship or aircraft, the
30master or commander,

(e) in the case of any thing detained on a vehicle, the driver of the
vehicle, or

(f) a person whom the person who detains the thing reasonably
believes to be a person within any of paragraphs (a) to (e).”

(5) 35In Schedule 3 (seizure and forfeiture), in paragraph 1(2) (exceptions to
requirement of notice of seizure)—

(a) after paragraph (b) insert—

“(ba) a person who has (or appears to have) possession or
control of the thing being seized; or”;

(b) 40in paragraph (c), for “in” substitute “on or from”;

(c) at the end insert “; or

(d) in the case of any thing seized on or from a vehicle,
the driver of the vehicle.”

(6) The amendments made by this section have effect in relation to things detained
45or seized on or after the day on which this Act is passed.

164 Data-gathering powers: providers of payment or intermediary services

(1) In Part 2 of Schedule 23 to FA 2011 (data-gathering powers: relevant data-
holders), after paragraph 13A insert—

““Providers of electronic stored-value payment services

13B (1) 5A person who provides electronic stored-value payment services is a
relevant data-holder.

(2) In this paragraph “electronic stored-value payment services” means
services by means of which monetary value is stored electronically
for the purpose of payments being made in respect of transactions to
10which the provider of those services is not a party.

Business intermediaries

13C (1) A person who—

(a) provides services to enable or facilitate transactions between
suppliers and their customers or clients (other than services
15provided solely to enable payments to be made), and

(b) receives information about such transactions in the course of
doing so,

is a relevant data-holder.

(2) In this paragraph “suppliers” means persons supplying goods or
20services in the course of business.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, information about transactions
includes information that is capable of indicating the likely quantity
or value of transactions.”

(2) This section applies in relation to relevant data with a bearing on any period
25(whether before, on or after the day on which this Act is passed).

165 Data-gathering powers: daily penalties for extended default

(1) Part 4 of Schedule 23 to FA 2011 (data-gathering powers: penalties) is amended
as follows.

(2) In paragraph 38 (increased daily default penalty)—

(a) 30in sub-paragraphs (1)(c) and (2), for “imposed” substitute “assessable”;

(b) for sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) substitute—

“(3) If the tribunal decides that an increased daily penalty should
be assessable—

(a) the tribunal must determine the day from which the
35increased daily penalty is to apply and the maximum
amount of that penalty (“the new maximum
amount”);

(b) from that day, paragraph 31 has effect in the data-
holder’s case as if “the new maximum amount” were
40substituted for “£60”.

(4) The new maximum amount may not be more than £1,000.”;

(c) in sub-paragraph (5), for “the amount” substitute “the new maximum
amount”.

(3) In paragraph 39—

(a) in sub-paragraph (1), for “a data-holder becomes liable to a penalty”
5substitute “the tribunal makes a determination”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (2), for “the day from which the increased penalty is
to apply” substitute “new maximum amount and the day from which it
applies”;

(c) omit sub-paragraph (3).

(4) 10In paragraph 40 (enforcement of penalties), in sub-paragraph (2)(a) omit “or
39”.

(5) At the end of paragraph 36 (right to appeal against penalty), the existing text
of which becomes sub-paragraph (1), insert—

“(2) But sub-paragraph (1)(b) does not give a right of appeal against the
15amount of an increased daily penalty payable by virtue of paragraph
38.”

Payment

166 Extension of provisions about set-off to Scotland

(1) Sections 130 and 131 of FA 2008 (which deal with the availability of set-off in
20England and Wales and Northern Ireland) extend also to Scotland.

(2) Accordingly, those sections are amended as follows.

(3) In section 130—

(a) omit subsection (10), and

(b) in the heading omit “: England and Wales and Northern Ireland”.

(4) 25In section 131—

(a) in subsection (5), in paragraph (a), after “winding up order” insert “or
award of sequestration”,

(b) in that subsection, omit the “or” at the end of paragraph (d) and after
paragraph (e) insert “, or

(f) 30that person’s estate becomes vested in any other person
as that person’s trustee under a trust deed (within the
meaning of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985).”, and”

(c) omit subsection (9).

Raw tobacco

167 35Raw tobacco approval scheme

(1) After section 8J of TPDA 1979 insert—

“8K Raw tobacco: definitions

(1) The following definitions apply for the purposes of sections 8L to 8U.

(2) “Raw tobacco” means the leaves or any other part of a plant of the
40genus Nicotiana but does not include—

(a) any part of a living plant, or

(b) a tobacco product.

(3) “Controlled activity” means any activity involving raw tobacco.

8L Raw tobacco: requirement for approval

(1) 5A person may not carry on a controlled activity otherwise than in
accordance with an approval given by the Commissioners under this
section.

(2) The Commissioners may approve a person to carry on a controlled
activity only if satisfied that—

(a) 10the person is a fit and proper person to carry on the activity, and

(b) the activity will not be carried on for the purpose of, or with a
view to, the fraudulent evasion of the duty of excise charged on
tobacco products under section 2(1).

(3) An approval may—

(a) 15specify the period of approval, and

(b) be subject to conditions or restrictions.

(4) The Commissioners may at any time for reasonable cause revoke or
vary the terms of an approval.

8M Regulations about approval etc.

20The Commissioners may, by or under regulations, make provision—

(a) regulating the approval of persons under section 8L,

(b) about the form, manner and content of an application for
approval,

(c) specifying conditions or restrictions to which an approval is
25subject,

(d) regulating the variation or revocation of an approval, or of any
condition or restriction to which an approval is subject, and

(e) about the surrender or transfer of an approval.

8N Exemptions from requirement for approval

(1) 30The Commissioners may by regulations provide that section 8L(1) does
not apply in relation to a person (an “exempt person”) who—

(a) carries on any controlled activity, or a controlled activity of a
specified description, and

(b) meets the conditions (if any) specified by or under the
35regulations.

(2) The regulations may require an exempt person to comply with
specified requirements or restrictions relating to the carrying on of a
controlled activity.

(3) The regulations may, in particular—

(a) 40specify the maximum quantity of raw tobacco that may be
involved in a controlled activity carried on by an exempt
person;

(b) require an exempt person to keep records relating to the
activity.

8O Raw tobacco: penalties

(1) A person who contravenes section 8L(1) is liable to a penalty of an
amount equal to the amount of duty that would be charged on the
relevant quantity of smoking tobacco.

(2) 5A person who contravenes a requirement or restriction imposed by
regulations under section 8N is liable to a penalty of—

(a) £250, or

(b) if less, an amount equal to the amount of duty that would be
charged on the relevant quantity of smoking tobacco.

(3) 10The relevant quantity of smoking tobacco is equal to the quantity by
weight of the raw tobacco in respect of which the controlled activity
contravening section 8L(1) or (as the case may be) regulations under
section 8N has been carried on.

(4) In this section a reference to “smoking tobacco” is a reference to tobacco
15products within section 1(1)(d) (“other smoking tobacco”).

8P Penalties under section 8O: special reduction

(1) If the Commissioners think it right because of special circumstances,
they may reduce a penalty under section 8O.

(2) In subsection (1) “special circumstances” does not include ability to
20pay.

(3) In subsection (1) the reference to reducing a penalty includes a
reference to—

(a) staying a penalty, and

(b) agreeing a compromise in relation to proceedings for a penalty.

8Q 25Penalties under section 8O: assessment of penalty

(1) Where a person becomes liable for a penalty under section 8O—

(a) the Commissioners may assess the penalty, and

(b) if they do so, they must notify the person liable.

(2) A notice under subsection (1)(b) must state the contravention in respect
30of which the penalty is assessed.

(3) A penalty payable under section 8O must be paid before the end of the
period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the notification of
the penalty is issued.

(4) An assessment is to be treated as an amount of duty due from the
35person liable for the penalty and may be recovered accordingly.

(5) An assessment may not be made later than one year after evidence of
facts sufficient in the opinion of the Commissioners to indicate the
contravention comes to their knowledge.

(6) Two or more contraventions may be treated by the Commissioners as a
40single contravention for the purposes of assessing a penalty payable
under section 8O.