Finance Act 1994

Assessments to excise duty or to penalties

12 Assessments to excise duty

(1) Subject to subsection (4) below, where it appears to the Commissioners—

(a) that any person is a person from whom any amount has become due in respect of any duty of excise; and

(b) that there has been a default falling within subsection (2) below,

the Commissioners may assess the amount of duty due from that person to the best of their judgement and notify that amount to that person or his representative.

(2) The defaults falling within this subsection are—

(a) any failure by any person to make, keep, preserve or produce as required or directed by or under any enactment any returns, accounts, books, records or other documents;

(b) any omission from or inaccuracy in any returns, accounts, books, records or other documents which any person is required or directed by or under any enactment to make, keep, preserve or produce;

(c) any failure by any person to take or permit to be taken any step which he is required under Schedule 1 or 3 to the [1981 c. 63.] Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 to take or to permit to be taken;

(d) any unreasonable delay in performing any obligation the failure to perform which would be a default falling within this subsection.

(3) Where an amount has been assessed as due from any person and notified in accordance with this section, it shall, subject to any appeal under section 16 below, be deemed to be an amount of the duty in question due from that person and may be recovered accordingly, unless, or except to the extent that, the assessment has subsequently been withdrawn or reduced.

(4) An assessment of the amount of any duty of excise due from any person shall not be made under this section at any time after whichever is the earlier of the following times, that is to say—

(a) subject to subsection (5) below, the end of the period of six years beginning with the time when his liability to the duty arose; and

(b) the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which evidence of facts, sufficient in the opinion of the Commissioners to justify the making of the assessment, comes to their knowledge;

but this subsection shall be without prejudice, where further evidence comes to the knowledge of the Commissioners at any time after the making of an assessment under this section, to the making of a further assessment within the period applicable by virtue of this subsection in relation to that further assessment.

(5) Subsection (4) above shall have effect as if the reference in paragraph (a) to six years were a reference to twenty years in the case of any assessment to any amount of duty the assessment or payment of any of which has been postponed or otherwise affected by—

(a) conduct in respect of which any person (whether or not the person assessed)—

(i) has become liable to a penalty under section 8 above, or

(ii) has been convicted of an offence of fraud or dishonesty; or

(b) any conduct in respect of which proceedings for an offence of fraud or dishonesty would have been commenced or continued against any person (whether or not the person assessed), but for their having been compounded under section 152(a) of the Management Act.

(6) The reference in subsection (4) above to the time when a person’s liability to a duty of excise arose are references—

(a) in the case of a duty of excise on goods, to the excise duty point; and

(b) in any other case, to the time when the duty was charged.

(7) In this section references to an offence of fraud or dishonesty include references to an offence under any of the following provisions, that is to say—

(a) sections 100(3), 136(1), 159(6), 167(1), 168(1), 170(1) and (2) and 170B(1) of the Management Act,

(b) section 24(6) of the [1981 c. 63.] Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 and paragraph 13(3) of Schedule 1, paragraph 7(3) of Schedule 2 and paragraph 16(1) of Schedule 3 to that Act,

(c) section 31(1) and (3) of the [1993 c. 34.] Finance Act 1993, and

(d) section 41(1) and (3) below,

and also include references to attempting or conspiring to commit an offence of fraud or dishonesty and to inciting the commission of such an offence.

(8) In this section “representative”, in relation to a person appearing to the Commissioners to be a person from whom any amount has become due in respect of any duty of excise, means his personal representative or trustee in bankruptcy, any receiver or liquidator appointed in relation to that person or any of his property or any other person acting in a representative capacity in relation to that person.

13 Assessments to penalties

(1) Where any person is liable to a penalty under this Chapter, the Commissioners may assess the amount due by way of penalty and notify that person, or his representative, accordingly.

(2) An assessment under this section may be combined with an assessment under section 12 above, but any notification for the purposes of any such combined assessment shall separately identify any amount assessed by way of a penalty.

(3) In the case of any amount due from any person by way of a penalty under section 9 above for conduct consisting in a contravention which attracts daily penalties—

(a) a notification of an assessment under this section shall specify a date, being a date no later than the date of the notification, to which the penalty as assessed is to be calculated; and

(b) if the contravention continues after that date, a further assessment, or (subject to this subsection) further assessments, may be made under this section in respect of any continuation of the contravention after that date.

(4) If—

(a) a person is assessed to a penalty in accordance with paragraph (a) of subsection (3) above, and

(b) the contravention to which that penalty relates is remedied within such period after the date specified for the purposes of that subsection in the notification of assessment as may for the purposes of this subsection be notified to that person by the Commissioners,

that contravention shall be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as having been remedied, and accordingly the conduct shall be deemed to have ceased, immediately before that date.

(5) If an amount has been assessed as due from any person and notified in accordance with this section, then unless, or except to the extent that, the assessment has subsequently been withdrawn or reduced, that amount shall, subject to any appeal under section 16 below, be recoverable as if it were an amount due from that person as an amount of the appropriate duty.

(6) In subsection (5) above “the appropriate duty” means—

(a) the duty of excise (if any) by reference to an amount of which the penalty in question is calculated; or

(b) where there is no such duty, the duty of excise the provisions relating to which are contravened by the conduct giving rise to the penalty or, if those provisions relate to more than one duty, such of the duties as appear to the Commissioners and are certified by them to be relevant in the case in question.

(7) In this section “representative”, in relation to a person liable to a penalty under this Chapter, means his personal representative or trustee in bankruptcy, any receiver or liquidator appointed in relation to that person or any of his property or any other person acting in a representative capacity in relation to that person.