Finance Act 2000

150 Search warrants: miscellaneous amendments

(1) Section 20C of the [1970 c. 9.] Taxes Management Act 1970 (search warrants) is amended as follows.

(2) After subsection (1) insert—

“(1AA) The Board shall not approve an application for a warrant under this section unless they have reasonable grounds for believing that use of the procedure under section 20BA above and Schedule 1AA to this Act (order for production of documents) might seriously prejudice the investigation.”.

(3) After subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) In the case of any information contained in a computer which is information that—

(a) an officer who enters the premises as mentioned in subsection (3) above has reasonable cause to believe may be required as evidence for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection, and

(b) is accessible from the premises,

the power of seizure under that subsection includes a power to require the information to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.”.

(4) For subsection (4) substitute—

“(4) Nothing in subsection (3) above authorises the seizure and removal of items subject to legal privilege.

(4A) In subsection (4) “items subject to legal privilege” means—

(a) communications between a professional legal adviser and his client or any person representing his client made in connection with the giving of legal advice to the client;

(b) communications between a professional legal adviser and his client or any person representing his client or between such an adviser or his client or any such representative and any other person made in connection with or in contemplation of legal proceedings and for the purposes of such proceedings; and

(c) items enclosed with or referred to in such communications and made—

(i) in connection with the giving of legal advice; or

(ii) in connection with or in contemplation of legal proceedings and for the purposes of such proceedings,

when they are in the possession of a person who is entitled to possession of them.

(4B) Items held with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose are not subject to legal privilege.”.

(5) After subsection (8) insert—

“(9) Where in Scotland the information mentioned in subsection (1) above relates to premises situated in different sheriffdoms—

(a) petitions for the issue of warrants in respect of all the premises to which the information relates may be made to the sheriff for a sheriffdom in which any of the premises is situated, and

(b) where the sheriff issues a warrant in respect of premises situated in his own sheriffdom, he shall also have jurisdiction to issue warrants in respect of all or any of the other premises to which the information relates.

This does not affect any power or jurisdiction of a sheriff to issue a warrant in respect of an offence committed within his own sheriffdom.”.