Finance Act 1966

24 (1) If a person, on written demand by the proper officer, refuses or neglects to pay any amount recoverable from him by way of the general betting duty or by virtue of section 15(1) of this Act or paragraph 8 or 21(1)(b) of this Schedule, the amount recoverable may be levied by distress on his goods and chattels, and the proper officer may for that purpose by warrant signed by him authorise any person to distrain accordingly and to sell anything so distrained by public auction after giving six days' notice of the sale.

(2) Where an amount recoverable by virtue of the said paragraph 8 or 21(1)(b) is determined by reference to the duty on a gaming licence in respect of premises on which gaming is Carried on as an activity of a club, the goods and chattels on which distress may be levied under sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall include any goods and chattels used for the purposes of the club and found on those premises :

Provided that distress shall not be levied on any goods or chattels by virtue of this sub-paragraph unless a copy of the demand for the amount recoverable has been served on the secretary of the club (or person performing the functions of secretary) by leaving it or sending it by post addressed to him at an address to which communications about the affairs of the club are ordinarily sent.

(3) The proceeds of sale of anything distrained under this paragraph shall be applied in or towards payment of the costs and expenses of the distress and sale and the payment of the amount recoverable, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid, where distress was levied on any goods or chattels by virtue of sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph to the secretary (or person performing the functions of secretary) of the club, and in any other case to the person on whom the distress was levied.

(4) Where under this paragraph distress is levied for any duty in accordance with an estimate made under paragraph 5 of this Schedule, and it is afterwards proved that the amount properly due was less than the amount estimated, that shall not affect the legality of the distress or anything done under this paragraph in connection therewith, but the proceeds of sale shall be applied under sub-paragraph (3) thereof in accordance with the amount properly due and not in accordance with the amount estimated.

(5) In the application of this paragraph to Scotland, any reference to distress shall be construed as a reference to diligence, any reference to distraining or to the levying of distress shall be construed as a reference to the doing of diligence, and the expression " chattels " means corporeal moveables.