Finance Act 2003

Power to issue warrant

43 (1) The appropriate judicial authority, if satisfied on information on oath given by an officer of the Board that—

(a) there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence involving serious fraud in connection with, or in relation to, tax is being, has been or is about to be committed and that evidence of it is to be found on premises specified in the information, and

(b) in applying under this paragraph the officer acts with the approval of the Board given in relation to the particular case,

may issue a warrant in writing authorising an officer of the Board to enter the premises, if necessary by force, at any time within 14 days from the time of issue of the warrant, and search them.

(2) The appropriate judicial authority is—

(a) in England and Wales, a circuit judge;

(b) in Scotland, a sheriff;

(c) in Northern Ireland, a county court judge.

(3) Where in Scotland the information 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.