Office of Public Sector Information
PART I continued CHAPTER II continued
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, an appeal shall lie to an appeal tribunal with respect to any of the following decisions, that is to say—
(a) any decision by the Commissioners on a review under section 15 above (including a deemed confirmation under subsection (2) of that section); and
(b) any decision by the Commissioners on such review of a decision to which section 14 above applies as the Commissioners have agreed to undertake in consequence of a request made after the end of the period mentioned in section 14(3) above.
(2) An appeal under this section shall not be entertained unless the appellant is the person who required the review in question.
(3) An appeal which relates to, or to any decision on a review of, any decision falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 14(1) above shall not be entertained if any amount is outstanding from the appellant in respect of any liability of the appellant to pay any relevant duty to the Commissioners (including an amount of any such duty which would be so outstanding if the appeal had already been decided in favour of the Commissioners) unless—
(a) the Commissioners have, on the application of the appellant, issued a certificate stating either—
(i) that such security as appears to them to be adequate has been given to them for the payment of that amount; or
(ii) that, on the grounds of the hardship that would otherwise be suffered by the appellant, they either do not require the giving of security for the payment of that amount or have accepted such lesser security as they consider appropriate;
or
(b) the tribunal to which the appeal is made decide that the Commissioners should not have refused to issue a certificate under paragraph (a) above and are satisfied that such security (if any) as it would have been reasonable for the Commissioners to accept in the circumstances has been given to the Commissioners.
(4) In relation to any decision as to an ancillary matter, or any decision on the review of such a decision, the powers of an appeal tribunal on an appeal under this section shall be confined to a power, where the tribunal are satisfied that the Commissioners or other person making that decision could not reasonably have arrived at it, to do one or more of the following, that is to say—
(a) to direct that the decision, so far as it remains in force, is to cease to have effect from such time as the tribunal may direct;
(b) to require the Commissioners to conduct, in accordance with the directions of the tribunal, a further review of the original decision; and
(c) in the case of a decision which has already been acted on or taken effect and cannot be remedied by a further review, to declare the decision to have been unreasonable and to give directions to the Commissioners as to the steps to be taken for securing that repetitions of the unreasonableness do not occur when comparable circumstances arise in future.
(5) In relation to other decisions, the powers of an appeal tribunal on an appeal under this section shall also include power to quash or vary any decision and power to substitute their own decision for any decision quashed on appeal.
(6) On an appeal under this section the burden of proof as to—
(a) the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) and (b) of section 8 above,
(b) the question whether any person has acted knowingly in using any substance or liquor in contravention of section 114(2) of the Management Act, and
(c) the question whether any person had such knowledge or reasonable cause for belief as is required for liability to a penalty to arise under section 22(1) or 23(1) of the [1979 c. 5.] Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 (use of fuel substitute or road fuel gas on which duty not paid),
shall lie upon the Commissioners; but it shall otherwise be for the appellant to show that the grounds on which any such appeal is brought have been established.
(7) An appeal tribunal shall not, by virtue of anything contained in this section, have any power, apart from their power in pursuance of section 8(4) above, to mitigate the amount of any penalty imposed under this Chapter.
(8) References in this section to a decision as to an ancillary matter are references to any decision of a description specified in Schedule 5 to this Act which is not comprised in a decision falling within section 14(1)(a) to (c) above.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, expressions used in this Chapter and in the Management Act have the same meanings in this Chapter as in that Act.
(2) In this Chapter—
“appeal tribunal” shall be construed in accordance with section 7(3) above;
“conduct” includes any act, omission or statement;
“contravention” includes a failure to comply, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“the Community Customs Code” means the Regulation of the Council of the European Communities dated 12 October 1992 (EEC) No. 2913/92 for establishing the Community Customs Code;
“the Management Act” means the [1979 c. 2.] Customs and Excise Management Act 1979;
“relevant duty” means any Community customs duty or agricultural levy of the European Community or any duty of excise; and
“subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in the [1978 c. 30.] Interpretation Act 1978.
(3) For the purposes of this Chapter a contravention consisting in a failure to do something at or before a particular time shall be taken to continue after that time until the thing is done, and references in this Chapter to the remedying of such a contravention shall be construed accordingly.
(4) References in this Chapter to a duty of excise do not include references to vehicles excise duty.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, references in the Management Act to a penalty shall not include references to a penalty under this Chapter.
(2) Section 117 of the Management Act (execution and distress against revenue traders) shall have effect—
(a) as if any amount assessed as due from any person by way of a penalty under this Chapter, not being an amount in relation to which subsection (4) below applies, were an amount of excise duty payable by that person; and
(b) with the substitution, in subsection (7A)—
(i) for “estimated under section 116A above” of “assessed under section 12 of the Finance Act 1994”; and
(ii) for the word “estimated”, in the second and third places where it occurs, of “assessed”.
(3) Section 127 of the Management Act (determination of disputes as to duties on imported goods) shall cease to have effect; and for subsection (5) of section 40 of the [1983 c. 55.] Value Added Tax Act 1983 (which provides for there to be no appeal with respect to any matter falling to be determined in accordance with section 127 of the Management Act) there shall be substituted the following subsection—
“(5) No appeal shall lie under this section with respect to the subject-matter of any decision which by virtue of section 24 above is a decision to which section 14 of the Finance Act 1994 (decisions subject to review) applies unless the decision—
(a) relates exclusively to one or both of the following matters, namely whether or not section 16(3) above applies in relation to the importation of the goods in question and (if it does not) the rate of tax charged on those goods; and
(b) is not one in respect of which notice has been given to the Commissioners under section 14 of that Act requiring them to review it.”
(4) Sections 28 and 29 of the [1981 c. 63.] Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 (distress and poinding) shall apply, as they apply in relation to any amount recoverable by way of general betting duty, in relation to any amount assessed as due from any person by way of a penalty incurred under this Chapter with respect to conduct connected with a duty or licence under that Act.
(5) In section 29A(1)(d) of that Act of 1981 (certificate to be evidence of certain matters), for the words “or estimate made in pursuance of this Act” there shall be substituted “made in pursuance of this Act or in any assessment made under section 12 of the Finance Act 1994”.
(6) In section 35(1)(c) of the [1993 c. 34.] Finance Act 1993 (certificate to be evidence of certain matters), for the words “in an estimate made under section 116A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979” there shall be substituted “in any assessment made under section 12 of the Finance Act 1994”.
(7) In section 827 of the Taxes Act 1988 (VAT penalties etc.), after subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(1A) Where a person is liable to make a payment by way of a penalty under any of sections 8 to 11 of the Finance Act 1994 (penalties relating to excise), that payment shall not be allowed as a deduction in computing any income, profits or losses for any tax purposes.”
(8) Subsections (1), (2) and (4) above shall be without prejudice to section 13(5) above; and subsection (7) above shall have effect in relation to any chargeable period ending after the coming into force of the provision which provides for the imposition of the penalty in question.
(1) Subject to section 18(8) above, this Chapter shall come into force on such day as the Commissioners may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, and different days may be appointed under this subsection for different provisions and for different purposes.
(2) An order under this section may make such transitional provision and savings as appear to the Commissioners to be appropriate in connection with the bringing into force by such an order of any provision of this Chapter.
(3) Nothing in any provision of this Chapter shall, in respect of conduct occurring before the coming into force of that provision, impose or affect any liability to any civil or criminal penalty or any liability of goods to forfeiture.
(1) This Chapter applies to any person carrying on a trade or business which consists of or includes any of the following activities—
(a) importing or exporting any goods of a class or description subject to a duty of customs (whether or not in fact chargeable with that duty);
(b) producing, manufacturing or applying a process to them;
(c) buying, selling or dealing in them;
(d) handling or storing them;
(e) financing or facilitating any activity mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) above.
(2) In subsection (1) above “duty of customs” includes any agricultural levy of the European Community.
(3) In this Chapter—
(a) “customs goods” means any goods mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above; and
(b) any reference to the business of a person to whom this Chapter applies is a reference to the trade or business carried on by him as mentioned in that subsection.
(4) This Chapter shall have effect and be construed as if it were contained in the [1979 c. 2.] Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
(5) In consequence of the provision made by sections 21 to 27 below, any power under—
(a) section 75A, 75B or 75C of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 to require a person importing or exporting goods to keep or preserve records, or
(b) section 77A, 77B or 77C of that Act to require a person to furnish information or produce documents relating to imported or exported goods,
shall cease to be exercisable in relation to a person to the extent that the goods in question are customs goods.
(1) The Commissioners may by regulations require any person to whom this Chapter applies—
(a) to keep such records as may be prescribed in the regulations; and
(b) to preserve those records—
(i) for such period not exceeding four years as may be prescribed in the regulations, or
(ii) for such lesser period as the Commissioners may require.
(2) The Commissioners may also require any person mentioned in subsection (3) below—
(a) to keep such records as they may specify; and
(b) to preserve those records for such period not exceeding four years as they may require.
(3) The person referred to is any person who—
(a) is not carrying on a trade or business which consists of or includes the importation or exportation of customs goods, but
(b) is concerned in some other capacity in such importation or exportation.
(4) A duty imposed under subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b) above to preserve records may be discharged by the preservation of the information contained in them by such means as the Commissioners may approve.
(5) On giving approval under subsection (4) above, the Commissioners may impose such reasonable requirements as appear to them necessary for securing that the information will be as readily available to them as if the records themselves had been preserved.
(6) Regulations under this section may—
(a) make different provision for different cases; and
(b) be framed by reference to such records as may be specified in any notice published by the Commissioners in pursuance of the regulations and not withdrawn by a further notice.
(7) Any person who fails to comply with a requirement imposed by virtue of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(1) Where any information is preserved by approved means as mentioned in section 21(4) above, a copy of any document in which it is contained shall, subject to subsection (2) below, be admissible in evidence in any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, to the same extent as the records themselves.
(2) A statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall not by virtue of subsection (1) above be admissible in evidence—
(a) in civil proceedings in England and Wales, except in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the [1968 c. 64.] Civil Evidence Act 1968;
(b) in criminal proceedings in England and Wales, except in accordance with sections 69 and 70 of the [1984 c. 60.] Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Part II of the [1988 c. 33.] Criminal Justice Act 1988;
(c) in civil proceedings in Scotland, except in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the [1988 c. 32.] Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988;
(d) in criminal proceedings in Scotland, except in accordance with Schedule 3 to the [1993 c. 9.] Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993;
(e) in civil proceedings in Northern Ireland, except in accordance with sections 2 and 3 of the [1971 c. 36 (N.I.).] Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971; and
(f) in criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland, except in accordance with Article 68 of the [S.I. 1989/1341 (N.I. 12).] Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and Part II of the [S.I. 1988/1847 (N.I. 17).] Criminal Justice (Evidence, Etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.
(1) Every person to whom this Chapter applies shall furnish the Commissioners, within such time and in such form as they may reasonably require, with such information relating to his business as they may reasonably specify.
(2) Every person to whom this Chapter applies shall, if required to do so by an officer, produce or cause to be produced for inspection by the officer—
(a) at that person’s principal place of business or at such other place as the officer may reasonably require, and
(b) at such time as the officer may reasonably require,
any documents which relate to his business.
(3) Where it appears to an officer that any documents which relate to a business of a person to whom this Chapter applies are in the possession of another person, the officer may require that other person, at such time and place as the officer may reasonably require, to produce those documents or cause them to be produced.
(4) For the purposes of this section, the documents which relate to a business of a person to whom this Chapter applies shall be taken to include—
(a) any profit and loss account and balance sheet, and
(b) any documents required to be kept by virtue of section 21(1) above.
(5) Every person mentioned in section 21(3) above shall furnish the Commissioners, within such time and in such form as they may reasonably require, with such information relating to the importation or exportation of customs goods in which he is concerned as they may reasonably specify.
(6) Every person mentioned in section 21(3) above shall, if required to do so by an officer, produce or cause to be produced for inspection by the officer at such time and place as the officer may reasonably require, any documents which relate to the importation or exportation of customs goods in which he is concerned.
(7) An officer may take copies of, or make extracts from, any document produced under this section.
(8) If it appears to an officer to be necessary to do so, he may, at a reasonable time and for a reasonable period, remove any document produced under this section.
(9) Where a document is removed under subsection (8) above—
(a) if the person from whom the document is removed so requests, he shall be given a record of what was removed;
(b) if the document is reasonably required for the proper conduct of any business, the person by whom the document was produced or caused to be produced shall be provided as soon as practicable with a copy of the document free of charge;
(c) if the document is lost or damaged, the Commissioners shall be liable to compensate the owner of it for any expenses reasonably incurred by him in replacing or repairing it.
(10) If a person claims a lien on any document produced by him under subsection (3) or (6) above—
(a) the production of the document shall be without prejudice to the lien; and
(b) the removal of the document under subsection (8) above shall not be regarded as breaking the lien.
(11) Any person who fails to comply with a requirement imposed under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
Where an officer has reasonable cause to believe that—
(a) any premises are used in connection with a business of a person to whom this Chapter applies, and
(b) any customs goods are on those premises,
he may at any reasonable time enter and inspect those premises and inspect any goods found on them.
(1) Where, on an application by an officer, a justice is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing—
(a) that an offence in connection with a duty of customs is being, has been or is about to be committed, and
(b) that any information or documents which may be required as evidence for the purpose of any proceedings in respect of such an offence is in the possession of any person,
he may make an order under this section.
(2) An order under this section is an order that the person who appears to the justice to be in possession of the information or documents to which the application relates shall—
(a) furnish an officer with the information or produce the document,
(b) permit an officer to take copies of or make extracts of any document produced, and
(c) permit an officer to remove any document which he reasonably considers necessary,
not later than the end of the period of seven days beginning with the date of the order or the end of such longer period as the order may specify.
(3) In this section “justice” means a justice of the peace or, in relation to Scotland, a justice within the meaning of section 462 of the [1975 c. 21.] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.
(1) An officer who removes any document in the exercise of a power conferred under section 25 above shall, if so requested by a person showing himself—
(a) to be the occupier of premises from which it was removed, or
(b) to have had custody or control of it immediately before the removal,
provide that person with a record of what he removed.
(2) The officer shall provide the record within a reasonable time from the making of the request for it.
(3) Subject to subsection (7) below, if a request for permission to be granted access to any document which—
(a) has been removed by an officer, and
(b) is retained by the Commissioners for the purposes of investigating an offence,
is made to the officer in charge of the investigation by a person who had custody or control of the document immediately before it was so removed or by someone acting on behalf of such a person, the officer shall allow the person who made the request access to it under the supervision of an officer.
(4) Subject to subsection (7) below, if a request for a photograph or copy of any such document is made to the officer in charge of the investigation by a person who had custody or control of the document immediately before it was so removed, or by someone acting on behalf of such a person, the officer shall—
(a) allow the person who made the request access to it under the supervision of an officer for the purpose of photographing it or copying it, or
(b) photograph or copy it, or cause it to be photographed or copied.
(5) Where any document is photographed or copied under subsection (4)(b) above, the photograph or copy shall be supplied to the person who made the request.
(6) The photograph or copy shall be supplied within a reasonable time from the making of the request.
(7) There is no duty under this section to grant access to, or to supply a photograph or copy of, any document if the officer in charge of the investigation for the purposes of which it was removed has reasonable grounds for believing that to do so would prejudice—
(a) that investigation;
(b) the investigation of an offence other than the offence for the purposes of the investigation of which the document was removed; or
(c) any criminal proceedings which may be brought as a result of—
(i) the investigation of which he is in charge; or
(ii) any such investigation as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above.
(8) Any reference in this section to the officer in charge of the investigation is a reference to the person whose name and address are endorsed on the order concerned as being the officer in charge of it.
(1) Where, on an application made as mentioned in subsection (2) below, the appropriate judicial authority is satisfied that a person has failed to comply with a requirement imposed by section 26 above, the authority may order that person to comply with the requirement within such time and in such manner as may be specified in the order.
(2) An application under subsection (1) above shall be made—
(a) in the case of a failure to comply with any of the requirements imposed by subsections (1) and (2) of section 26 above, by the occupier of the premises from which the document in question was removed or by the person who had custody or control of it immediately before it was so removed, and
(b) in any other case, by the person who has such custody or control.
(3) In this section “the appropriate judicial authority” means—
(a) in England and Wales, a magistrates' court;
(b) in Scotland, the sheriff; and
(c) in Northern Ireland, a court of summary jurisdiction, as defined in Article 2(2)(a) of the [S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26).] Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.
(4) Any application for an order under this section—
(a) in England and Wales, shall be made by way of complaint; or
(b) in Northern Ireland, shall be made by way of civil proceedings upon complaint.
(5) Sections 21 and 42(2) of the [1954 c. 33 (N.I.).] Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (rules and orders regulating procedure of courts etc and assignment of business to particular courts) shall apply as if any reference in those provisions to any enactment included a reference to this section.
(1) A duty to be known as air passenger duty shall be charged in accordance with this Chapter on the carriage on a chargeable aircraft of any chargeable passenger.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter about accounting and payment, the duty in respect of any carriage on an aircraft of a chargeable passenger—
(a) becomes due when the aircraft first takes off on the passenger’s flight, and
(b) shall be paid by the operator of the aircraft.
(3) Subject to section 29 below, every aircraft designed or adapted to carry persons in addition to the flight crew is a chargeable aircraft for the purposes of this Chapter.
(4) Subject to sections 31 and 32 below, every passenger on an aircraft is a chargeable passenger for the purposes of this Chapter if his flight begins at an airport in the United Kingdom.
(5) In this Chapter, “flight”, in relation to any person, means his carriage on an aircraft; and for the purposes of this Chapter, a person’s flight is to be treated as beginning when he first boards the aircraft and ending when he finally disembarks from the aircraft.
(1) Where—
(a) the authorised take-off weight in respect of an aircraft is less than ten tonnes, or
(b) an aircraft is not authorised to seat twenty or more persons (excluding members of the flight crew and cabin attendants),
the aircraft is not a chargeable aircraft for the purposes of this Chapter.
(2) In this section “take-off weight”, in relation to an aircraft, means the total weight of the aircraft and its contents when taking off; and for the purposes of this section the authorised take-off weight of an aircraft is less than ten tonnes if—
(a) there is a certificate of airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft showing that the maximum authorised take-off weight (assuming the most favourable circumstances for take-off) is less than ten tonnes, or
(b) the Commissioners are satisfied that the aircraft is not designed or adapted to take off when its take-off weight is ten tonnes or more (assuming the most favourable circumstances for take-off) or the aircraft belongs to a class or description of aircraft in respect of which the Commissioners are so satisfied.
(3) For the purposes of this section an aircraft is not authorised as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above if—
(a) there is a certificate of airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft showing that the maximum number of persons who may be seated on the aircraft (excluding members of the flight crew and cabin attendants) is less than twenty, or
(b) the Commissioners are satisfied that the aircraft is not designed or adapted to seat twenty or more persons (excluding members of the flight crew and cabin attendants) or the aircraft belongs to a class or description of aircraft in respect of which the Commissioners are so satisfied.
(4) In this section “certificate of airworthiness” has the same meaning as in the Air Navigation Order.
(1) Air passenger duty shall be charged on the carriage of each chargeable passenger at the rate appropriate for the place where the passenger’s journey ends.
(2) If that place is—
(a) in the United Kingdom or another member State or in any territory for whose external relations the United Kingdom or any other member State is responsible, and
(b) in the area specified in subsection (3) below,
the rate is £5.
(3) The area referred to in subsection (2) above is the area bounded by the meridians of longitude 32° W and 32° E and the parallels of latitude 26° N and 81° N.
(4) In any other case, the rate is £10.
(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, the journey of a passenger whose agreement for carriage is evidenced by a ticket ends for the purposes of this section at his final place of destination.
(6) Where in the case of such a passenger—
(a) his journey includes two or more flights, and
(b) any of those flights is not followed by a connected flight,
his journey ends for those purposes where the first flight not followed by a connected flight ends.
(7) The journey of any passenger whose agreement for carriage is not evidenced by a ticket ends for those purposes where his flight ends.
(8) For the purposes of this Chapter, successive flights are connected if (and only if) they are treated under an order as connected.
(1) Where in the case of a passenger whose agreement for carriage is evidenced by a return ticket—
(a) he is a chargeable passenger in relation to a flight on his outward journey, and
(b) his final place of destination in relation to that journey is in the United Kingdom,
he is not a chargeable passenger in relation to a flight on his return journey.
(2) Subsection (1) above does not apply if—
(a) either his outward journey or his return journey includes two or more flights, and
(b) in relation to any of those flights (other than the first) on the journey in question, he would (apart from that subsection) be a chargeable passenger.
(3) A passenger whose agreement for carriage is evidenced by a ticket is not a chargeable passenger in relation to a flight which is the second or a subsequent flight on his journey if—
(a) the prescribed particulars of the flight are shown on the ticket, and
(b) that flight and the previous flight are connected.
(4) A child who—
(a) has not attained the age of two years, and
(b) is not allocated a separate seat before he first boards the aircraft,
is not a chargeable passenger.
(5) A passenger not carried for reward is not a chargeable passenger if he is carried—
(a) in pursuance of any requirement imposed under any enactment, or
(b) for the purpose only of inspecting matters relating to the aircraft or the flight crew.
(6) Regulations may provide for subsection (1) above to have effect as if the reference in paragraph (a) to a person who is a chargeable passenger in relation to a flight on his outward journey included a person whose outward journey began at an airport in the Isle of Man.
Finance Act 1994