Section 8: Variation or discharge
48.This section makes further provision for the discharge of confiscation orders. POCA provides for the writing off of confiscation orders in two circumstances. First, section 24 makes provision for an application to the Crown Court by a designated officer in a magistrates’ court to have a confiscation order written off if the outstanding amount is under £1,000 and the outstanding amount is a consequence of exchange rate fluctuations or any other reason specified in an order made by the Secretary of State (this order-making power has not been exercised). Second, section 25 provides for an application to the Crown Court to have a confiscation order written off if the outstanding amount is less than £50.
49.Subsection (2) inserts new section 25A into POCA to enable the writing off of confiscation orders in a third set of circumstances, namely where the subject of the order has died. When the subject of an order has died, it is still possible to apply to the court to appoint an enforcement receiver under section 50 of POCA to enforce the order against the estate of the defendant. However, there may be cases where the estate has insufficient funds or where the cost of appointing a receiver exceeds the value of the assets that could potentially be recovered. New section 25A(2) enables the court to write off the confiscation order in such cases.
50.Subsection (3) provides for new section 25A of POCA to operate not only in relation to confiscation orders made under POCA but those made under the precursor confiscation regimes in the Drug Trafficking Act 1994 and the Criminal Justice Act 1998.
51.Section 23 of POCA enables the defendant or a receiver appointed under section 50 to apply to the Crown Court to vary the terms of a confiscation order where it can be shown that there are insufficient assets to satisfy the order. In the majority of cases no receiver is appointed, accordingly if the defendant dies there is no one who is eligible to apply to vary a confiscation order. Subsection (1) amends section 23 so as to add the prosecutor to the list of parties with the power to apply to the court to vary orders.
