Finance Act 1967

43 Quorum of Special Commissioners in tax cases.

(1) Anything to be done under any Act (including, except where otherwise expressly provided, any Act passed after this Act) by, to or before the Special Commissioners appointed for the purposes of income tax may be done by, to or before a single Special Commissioner, or any two or more Special Commissioners ; and this section applies not only for income tax purposes but also for the purposes of any other affairs under the care and management of the Board.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section proceedings shall not by virtue of this section be brought before a single Special Commissioner unless—

(a) the party, or the parties, to the proceedings, other than the Board or any officer of the Board, have given their consent, and

(b) a Special Commissioner so directs on being satisfied that the direction will avoid undue delay in the hearing of those or any other proceedings.

(3) Proceedings brought before two or more Special Commissioners may be continued and determined by any one or more of them if the parties to the proceedings have given their consent and if the continuing Special Commissioner or Commissioners, after such consultation as is practicable with any Special Commissioner retiring from the proceedings, is or are satisfied that to do so will avoid undue delay in the hearing of those or any other proceedings.

(4) If the notice to the appellant of the setting down for hearing of an appeal to the Special Commissioners states that it is intended that the appeal should be heard by a single Special Commissioner and draws attention to the provisions of this section, the appeal may be so heard without compliance with the requirements of subsection (2) above, but if, in the course of the hearing of the appeal, or at any earlier time, the Special Commissioner to whom the appeal is assigned is satisfied that the appellant has arguments to present or evidence to adduce on the merits of the appeal the case shall thereafter be treated as one which cannot be brought before a single Special Commissioner unless the requirements of subsection (2) above are fulfilled.

(5) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall authorise a single Special Commissioner to entertain proceedings under section 56 of the [1960 c. 44.] Finance Act 1960 or paragraph 9 of Schedule 7 to that Act (procedure for recovery of fines and penalties), and subsection (3) of this section shall not apply to proceedings under those enactments.

(6) No determination of a Special Commissioner shall be questioned, whether by a case stated or otherwise, on the ground that this section did not authorise the Special Commissioner to make the determination, except by a party by whom or on whose behalf an objection to the jurisdiction was made to the Special Commissioner before or in the course of the proceedings leading to the determination.