An officer may, subject to subsection (2) below, at any time enter upon any premises of which entry is made, or is required by or under the revenue trade provisions of the customs and excise Acts to be made, or any other premises owned or used by a revenue trader for the purposes of his trade and may inspect the premises and search for, examine and take account of any machinery F1vehicles, vessels, utensils, goods or materials belonging to or in any way connected with that trade.

Except in the case of such traders as are mentioned in subsection (3) below, no officer shall exercise the powers conferred on him by subsection (1) above by night unless he is accompanied by a constable.

Where any such premises as are mentioned in subsection (1) above are those of a distiller, rectifier, compounder, brewer for sale, producer of wine, producer of made-wine F2maker of cider or occupier of an excise warehouse, and an officer, after having demanded admission into the premises and declared his name and business at the entrance thereof, is not immediately admitted, that officer and any person acting in his aid may, subject to subsection (4) below, break open any door or window of the premises or break through any wall thereof for the purpose of obtaining admission.

No officer or person acting in his aid shall exercise the powers conferred on him by subsection (3) above by night unless he is accompanied by a constable.

Subsection (1) above applies to vehicles, F20... hovercraft or structures in or from which tobacco products are sold or dealt in or F21alcoholic products are sold by retail as it applies to premises.

This section applies to the occupier of a refinery as it applies to a distiller, whether or not the occupier is a revenue trader.

Premises used to hold or store anything for the purposes of a revenue trader's trade are taken to be used by the revenue trader for the purposes of that trade, regardless of who owns or occupies the premises.

The power in section 112(1) includes power to inspect any business documents that are on the premises.

“Business documents” means documents (or copies of documents) that relate to the carrying on of the revenue trader's trade, whether or not ones that a person may be required to produce under section 118B.

Subsections (4) to (8) of section 118B apply to documents inspected under section 112(1) as they apply to documents produced under section 118B.

If an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that any secret pipe or other means of conveyance, cock, vessel or utensil is kept or used by a revenue trader to whom this section applies, that officer may, subject to subsection (2) below, at any time, break open any part of the premises of that trader and forcibly enter thereon and so far as is reasonably necessary break up the ground in or adjoining those premises or any wall thereof to search for that pipe or other means of conveyance, cock, vessel or utensil.

No officer shall exercise the powers conferred on him by subsection (1) above by night unless he is accompanied by a constable.

If the officer finds any such pipe or other form of conveyance leading to or from the trader’s premises, he may enter any other premises from or into which it leads, and so far as is reasonably necessary break up any part of those other premises to trace its course, and may cut it away and turn any cock thereon, and examine whether it conveys or conceals any goods chargeable with a duty of excise, or any materials used in the manufacture of such goods, in such manner as to prevent a true account thereof from being taken.

Every such pipe or other means of conveyance, cock, vessel or utensil as aforesaid, and all goods chargeable with a duty of excise or materials for the manufacture of such goods found therein, shall be liable to forfeiture F3. . ..

If any damage is done in any such search as aforesaid and the search is unsuccessful, the Commissioners shall make good the damage.

The revenue traders to whom this section applies are distillers, rectifiers, compounders, F4 registered brewers, producers of wine, producers of made-wine and makers of cider.

This section also applies to the occupier of a refinery as it applies to the traders mentioned in subsection (6) above, whether or not the occupier is a revenue trader.

If it appears to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that any substance F23, product or liquid is used, or is capable of being used, in the manufacture or preparation for sale of any goods chargeable, as goods manufactured or produced in the United Kingdom, with a duty of excise, and that that substance F23, product or liquid is of a noxious or detrimental nature or, being a chemical or artificial extract or product, may affect prejudicially the interests of the revenue, the Commissioners may by regulations prohibit the use of that substance F23, product or liquid in the manufacture or preparation for sale of any goods specified in the regulations.

If while any such regulations are in force any person knowingly uses a substance F22, product or liquid thereby prohibited in the manufacture or preparation for sale of any goods specified in the regulations F5his use of that substance F22, product or liquid in that manner shall attract a penalty under section 9 of the Finance Act 1994 (civil penalties); but section 10 of that Act (exception for cases of reasonable excuse) shall not apply in relation to conduct attracting a penalty by virtue of this subsection.

Any substance F24, product or liquid the use of which is for the time being prohibited by any such regulations found in the possession of any person licensed for the manufacture or sale of any goods specified in the regulations, and any goods in the manufacture or preparation of which any F25substance, product or liquid has been used contrary to any such prohibition, shall be liable to forfeiture.

The proper officer may place and leave on the premises of a revenue trader a specimen, that is to say, a document in which may be entered any particulars relating to the trader’s trade from time to time recorded by that or any other officer.

Any such specimen shall be deposited at some place on premises entered by the trader where convenient access may be had thereto at any time by the trader and by any officer, and any officer may at any time remove the specimen and deposit a new one in its place.

Where any charge of duty made by an officer upon a trader is not recorded in a specimen, the officer shall, if so required in writing by the trader at the time when the officer takes his account for the purpose of charging duty, give to the trader a copy of the charge in writing under his hand.

If F6the revenue trader removes, conceals, withholds, damages or destroys a specimen, or alters, defaces, or obliterates any entry therein, F6his doing so shall attract a penalty under section 9 of the Finance Act 1994 (civil penalties)..

For the purposes of subsection (4) above and without prejudice to section 10(1) of the Finance Act 1994 (exception for cases of reasonable excuse), conduct by an employee of the revenue trader or by any other person entitled to act on the trader’s behalf in connection with his trade shall be deemed to be conduct by that trader except in so far as he took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Every revenue trader shall pay any duty of excise payable in respect of his trade at or within such time, at such place and to such person as the Commissioners may direct whether or not payment of that duty has been secured by bond or otherwise.

If any duty payable is not paid in accordance with subsection (1) above, it shall be paid on demand made by the Commissioners either to the trader personally or by delivering the demand in writing at his place of abode or business.

If any duty is not paid on demand made under subsection (2) above F8the trader’s failure to pay the duty on demand shall attract a penalty under section 9 of the Finance Act 1994 (civil penalties) which shall be calculated by reference to the amount of the duty demanded and shall also attract daily penalties..

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) or (2) above, but subject to subsection (4) below, where the proper officer has taken account of and charged any goods chargeable with F11any excise duty and those goods are in the ordinary course of trade sold for full and valuable consideration to a bona fide purchaser and delivered into his possession before the issue of any warrant or process for distress or seizure of the goods, those goods shall not be liable to be seized under this section.

Where any goods have been seized under this section, the burden of proof that the goods are by virtue of subsection (3) above not liable to be so seized shall lie upon the person claiming that they are not so liable.

This section does not apply for the purposes of levying distress in accordance with regulations under section 51 of the Finance Act 1997 or for the purposes of any execution under section 52 of that Act by diligence.

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In this section—

• F15. . .

• “relevant penalty” means a penalty incurred under the revenue trade provisions of the customs and excise Acts.

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