FIRST
REPORT
The Select Committee appointed to consider
any instrument which is directed by Act of Parliament to be laid
before and to be subject to proceedings in this House only being:
(a) a statutory instrument,
or draft of a statutory instrument;
(b) a scheme, or an amendment of a scheme, or a draft thereof,
requiring approval by statutory instrument; or
(c) any other instrument (whether or not in draft), where
the proceedings in pursuance of an Act of Parliament are proceedings
by way of an affirmative resolution:
In pursuance of the Instruction that in considering
any such instrument the Committee do not join with the Committee
appointed by the Lords, has made progress in the matter referred
to it and has agreed the following report:
1. The Committee has considered the instruments listed
in the Annex to this Report, and has determined that the special
attention of the House does not require to be drawn to any of
them.
Income Tax (Electronic Communications)
(Incentive Payments)
Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/56)
2. The Committee draws the attention of the House
to the above instrument on the ground that it is defectively drafted.
3. The Regulations provide for incentive payments
to be made to individuals and employees who submit returns to
the Inland Revenue using electronic communications. Regulations
3 and 5 set out circumstances in which incentive payments shall
be made to individuals or employers submitting certain returns.
Regulation 4 sets out the circumstances in which an incentive
payment may be made to an employer submitting an end of
year PAYE return. The explanatory note which accompanies the Regulations
states that all three regulations are intended to impose an obligation
to make incentive payments. The Committee therefore asked the
Department to explain whether regulation 4 was intended to impose
an obligation on the Board to make a payment.
4. The Department, in its memorandum printed in Appendix
1, explained that regulation 4 was indeed intended to impose an
obligation but the word "may" was incorrectly used instead
of the word "shall". The Department intends to correct
this error at the next opportunity. The Committee therefore reports
regulation 4 for defective drafting acknowledged by the Department.
Climate Change Levy (Registration
and Miscellaneous Provisions)
Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/7)
5. The Committee draws the attention of the House
to the above Regulations on the ground that they require elucidation.
6. These Regulations make provision about registration
for the climate change levy. Part IV of the Regulations make provision
for the appointment of tax representatives for non-resident tax
payers and for matters connected thereto: regulations 17, 18 and
19 within that Part all make use of the expression "eligible
to act as [or to be] a tax representative". Whilst the Committee
noted that regulation 14(4) refers to the appointment of a person
"resident in the United Kingdom" to act as a non-resident
taxpayer's tax representative, it was not clear to the Committee
whether the notion of eligibility, used in regulations 17 to 19,
was intended to refer simply to residence in the United Kingdom
or had some other meaning and the Committee asked the Department
to explain this expression.
7. The Department, in its memorandum printed in Appendix
2, explain that this expression refers back to the question whether
a person is resident in the United Kingdom. The specific primary
legislation applicable to climate change tax levy representatives
is to be found in paragraphs 114 and 115 of Schedule 6 to the
Finance Act 2000. Paragraph 114(1) provides for regulations to
secure that every non-resident taxpayer has a person resident
in the United Kingdom to act as his tax representative and it
is this provision which is reflected in the Regulations. The Committee
therefore reports regulations 17, 18 and 19 as requiring the elucidation
provided by the Department's memorandum.
8. The Committee nonetheless wishes to record its
view that these Regulations are particularly well-drafted. The
clear and straightforward style of drafting employed and the division
of the text into short sentences make the Regulations eminently
readable by the non-specialist. The Committee commends them to
all departments, as an example to be followed.
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