Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Bill

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
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Other Bills before Parliament

Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Bill

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Proceedings
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Evidence
(1)
A document that purports to have been issued or signed by or with the
authority of the Commissioners—
(a)
shall be treated as having been so issued or signed unless the contrary
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is proved, and
(b)
shall be admissible in any legal proceedings.
(2)
A document that purports to have been issued by the Commissioners and
which certifies any of the matters specified in subsection (3) shall (in addition
to the matters provided for by subsection (1)(a) and (b)) be treated as accurate
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unless the contrary is proved.
(3)
The matters mentioned in subsection (2) are—
(a)
that a specified person was appointed as a commissioner on a specified
date,
(b)
that a specified person was appointed as an officer of Revenue and
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Customs on a specified date,
(c)
that at a specified time or for a specified purpose (or both) a function
was delegated to a specified Commissioner,
(d)
that at a specified time or for a specified purpose (or both) a function
was delegated to a specified committee, and
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(e)
that at a specified time or for a specified purpose (or both) a function
was delegated to another specified person.
(4)
A photographic or other copy of a document acquired by the Commissioners
shall, if certified by them to be an accurate copy, be admissible in any legal
proceedings to the same extent as the document itself.
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(5)
Section 2 of the Documentary Evidence Act 1868 (c. 37) (proof of documents)
shall apply to a Revenue and Customs document as it applies in relation to the
documents mentioned in that section.
(6)
In the application of that section to a Revenue and Customs document the
Schedule to that Act shall be treated as if—
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(a)
the first column contained a reference to the Commissioners, and
(b)
the second column contained a reference to a Commissioner or a person
acting on his authority.
(7)
In this section—
(a)
“Revenue and Customs document” means a document issued by or on
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behalf of the Commissioners, and
(b)
a reference to the Commissioners includes a reference to the
Commissioners of Inland Revenue and to the Commissioners of
Customs and Excise.
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Conduct of civil proceedings
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(1)
An officer of Revenue and Customs or a person authorised by the
Commissioners may conduct civil proceedings, in a magistrates’ court or in the
sheriff court, relating to a function of the Revenue and Customs.

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(2)
A solicitor member of the Commissioners’ staff may act as a solicitor in
connection with civil proceedings relating to a function of the Revenue and
Customs.
(3)
A legally qualified member of the Commissioners’ staff may conduct county
court proceedings relating to a matter specified in section 6.
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(4)
A court shall grant any rights of audience necessary to enable a person to
exercise a function under this section.
(5)
In this section—
(a)
a reference to a function of the Revenue and Customs is a reference to
a function of—
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(i)
the Commissioners, or
(ii)
an officer of Revenue and Customs,
(b)
a reference to civil proceedings is a reference to proceedings other than
proceedings in respect of an offence,
(c)
a reference to county court proceedings is a reference to civil
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proceedings in a county court,
(d)
the reference to a legally qualified member of the Commissioners’ staff
is a reference to a member of staff who has been admitted as a solicitor,
or called to the Bar, whether or not he holds a practising certificate, and
(e)
the reference to a solicitor member of the Commissioners’ staff—
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(i)
except in relation to Scotland, is a reference to a member of staff
who has been admitted as a solicitor, whether or not he holds a
practising certificate,
(ii)
in relation to Scotland, is a reference to a member of staff who
has been admitted as a solicitor and who holds a practising
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certificate.
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Rewards
The Commissioners may pay a reward to a person in return for a service which
relates to a function of—
(a)
the Commissioners, or
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(b)
an officer of Revenue and Customs.
Inspection and complaints
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Inspection
(1)
The Treasury may make regulations conferring functions on Her Majesty’s
Inspectors of Constabulary or the Scottish inspectors in relation to—
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(a)
the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and
(b)
officers of Revenue and Customs.
(2)
Regulations under subsection (1)—
(a)
may —
(i)
in relation to Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary, apply
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(with or without modification) or make provision similar to any
provision of sections 54 to 56 of the Police Act 1996 (c. 16)
(inspection);

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(ii)
in relation to the Scottish inspectors, apply (with or without
modification) or make provision similar to any provision of
section 33 or 34 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77)
(inspection);
(b)
may enable a Minister of the Crown or the Commissioners to require an
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inspection to be carried out;
(c)
shall provide for a report of an inspection to be made and, subject to
any exceptions required or permitted by the regulations, published;
(d)
shall provide for an annual report by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of
Constabulary;
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(e)
may make provision for payment by the Commissioners to or in respect
of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary or the Scottish inspectors.
(3)
An inspection carried out by virtue of this section may not address a matter of
a kind which the Comptroller and Auditor General may examine under section
6 of the National Audit Act 1983 (c. 44).
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(4)
An inspection carried out by virtue of this section shall be carried out jointly by
Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary and the Scottish inspectors—
(a)
if it is carried out wholly in Scotland, or
(b)
in a case where it is carried out partly in Scotland, to the extent that it is
carried out there.
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(5)
Regulations under subsection (1)—
(a)
shall be made by statutory instrument, and
(b)
shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either
House of Parliament.
(6)
Regulations under subsection (1) shall relate to the Commissioners or officers
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of Revenue and Customs only in so far as their functions are exercised in or in
relation to England and Wales or Scotland.
(7)
In this section “the Scottish inspectors” means the inspectors of constabulary
appointed under section 33(1) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.
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Complaints and misconduct: England and Wales
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(1)
The Treasury may make regulations conferring functions on the Independent
Police Complaints Commission in relation to—
(a)
the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and
(b)
officers of Revenue and Customs.
(2)
Regulations under subsection (1)—
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(a)
may apply (with or without modification) or make provision similar to
any provision of Part 2 of the Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30)
(complaints);
(b)
may confer on the Independent Police Complaints Commission, or on
a person acting on its behalf, a power of a kind conferred by this Act or
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another enactment on an officer of Revenue and Customs;
(c)
may make provision for payment by the Commissioners to or in respect
of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
(3)
Regulations under subsection (1)—
(a)
shall be made by statutory instrument, and
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(b)
shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either
House of Parliament.
(4)
Regulations under subsection (1) shall relate to the Commissioners or officers
of Revenue and Customs only in so far as their functions are exercised in or in
relation to England and Wales.
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Confidentiality, &c.
(1)
Where Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary or the Scottish inspectors
obtain information in the course of exercising a function by virtue of section
25—
(a)
they may not disclose it without the consent of the Commissioners, and
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(b)
they may not use it for any purpose other than the exercise of the
function by virtue of section 25.
(2)
A report of an inspection by virtue of section 25 may not include information
relating to a specified person without his consent.
(3)
Where the Independent Police Complaints Commission or a person acting on
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its behalf obtains information from the Commissioners or an officer of Revenue
and Customs in the course of exercising a function by virtue of section 26—
(a)
the Commission or person shall comply with any restriction on
disclosure imposed by regulations under that section (and those
regulations may, in particular, prohibit disclosure generally or only in
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specified circumstances or only without the consent of the
Commissioners), and
(b)
the Commission or person may not use the information for any purpose
other than the exercise of a function by virtue of that section.
(4)
A person commits an offence if he contravenes a provision of this section.
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(5)
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section of
disclosing or using information to prove that he reasonably believed—
(a)
that the disclosure or use was lawful, or
(b)
that the information had already and lawfully been made available to
the public.
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(6)
A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
two years, to a fine or to both, or
(b)
on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12
months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.
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(7)
A prosecution for an offence under this section may be instituted in England
and Wales only—
(a)
by the Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions, or
(b)
with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(8)
In the application of this section to Scotland the reference in subsection (6)(b)
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to 12 months shall be taken as a reference to six months.
(9)
In this section “the Scottish inspectors” has the same meaning as in section 23.