The Petroleum Revenue Tax (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2003

PART 1 Introduction

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Petroleum Revenue Tax (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 13th November 2003.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Oil Taxation Act 1975 and references, without more, to a numbered section or Schedule are to the section of, or Schedule to, the Act bearing that number;

“approved” means approved, for the purposes of these Regulations and for the time being, by means of a general or specific direction of the Board;

“the Management Act” means the Taxes Management Act 1970(1);

“the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;

“field” means an oil field as defined in Schedule 1(2);

“official computer system” means a computer system maintained by or on behalf of the Board—

(a)

to send or receive information, or

(b)

to process or store information;

“participator” has the meaning given in section 12; and

“responsible person” has the meaning given in paragraph 4 of Schedule 2.

(3) References in these Regulations to information and to the delivery of information shall be construed in accordance with section 132(8) of the Finance Act 1999.

Scope

2.  These Regulations apply for the purposes of delivering information in, or in connection with, the claims, elections, notices and returns specified in the Schedule to these Regulations.

PART 2 Electronic Communications — General Provisions

Restriction on the use of electronic communications

3.—(1) The Board may only use electronic communications in connection with the matters referred to in regulation 2 if—

(a) the recipient has indicated that he consents to the Board using electronic communications in connection with those matters; and

(b) the Board have not been informed that that consent has been withdrawn.

(2) A person other than the Board may only use electronic communications in connection with the matters referred to in regulation 2 if the conditions specified in paragraphs (3) to (6) are satisfied.

(3) The first condition is that the person is for the time being permitted to use electronic communications for the purpose in question by a general or specific direction of the Board.

(4) The second condition is that the person uses—

(a) an approved method for authenticating the identity of the sender of the communication;

(b) an approved method of electronic communications; and

(c) an approved method for authenticating any information delivered by means of electronic communications.

(5) The third condition is that any information sent by means of electronic communications is in a form approved.

Here “form” includes the manner in which the information is presented.

(6) The fourth condition is that the person maintains such records in written or electronic form as may be specified in a general or specific direction of the Board.

Use of intermediaries

4.  The Board may use intermediaries in connection with—

(a) the delivery of information by means of electronic communications in connection with the matters referred to in regulation 2, and

(b) the authentication or security of anything transmitted by such means,

and may require other persons to use intermediaries in connection with those matters.

PART 3 Electronic Communications— Evidential Provisions

Effect of delivering information by means of electronic communications

5.—(1) Information to which these Regulations apply, and which is delivered by means of electronic communications, shall be treated as having been delivered, in the manner or form required by any provision of the Act or the Management Act which applies of the purpose of petroleum revenue tax(3) if, but only if, all the conditions imposed by—

(a) these Regulations,

(b) any other applicable enactment (except to the extent that the condition thereby imposed is incompatible with these Regulations), and

(c) any specific or general direction given by the Board,

are satisfied.

(2) Information delivered by means of electronic communications shall be treated as having been delivered on the day on which the last of the conditions imposed as mentioned in paragraph (1) is satisfied.

• This is subject to paragraphs (3) and (4).

(3) The Board may by a general or specific direction provide for information to be treated as delivered upon a different date (whether earlier or later) than that given by paragraph (2).

(4) Information shall not be taken to have been delivered to an official computer system by means of electronic communications unless it is accepted by the system to which it is delivered.

Proof of content

6.—(1) A document certified by an officer of the Board to be a printed-out version of any information delivered by means of electronic communications under these Regulations on any occasion shall be evidence, unless the contrary is proved, that that information—

(a) was delivered by means of electronic communications on that occasion; and

(b) constitutes the entirety of what was delivered on that occasion.

(2) A document purporting to be a certificate given in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be presumed to be such a certificate unless the contrary is proved.

Proof of sender or recipient

7.  The identity of—

(a) the sender of any information delivered to an official computer system by means of electronic communications under these Regulations, or

(b) the recipient of any information delivered by means of electronic communications from an official computer system,

shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the person recorded as such on an official computer system.

Information delivered electronically on another’s behalf

8.  Any information delivered by an approved method of electronic communications on behalf of any person shall be deemed to have been delivered by him unless he proves that it was delivered without his knowledge or connivance.

Proof of delivery of information

9.—(1) The use of an authorised method of electronic communications shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have resulted in the delivery of information—

(a) in the case of information falling to be delivered to the Board, if the delivery of the information has been recorded on an official computer system; and

(b) in the case of information falling to be delivered by the Board, if the despatch of that information has been recorded on an official computer system.

(2) The use of an authorised method of electronic communications shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, not to have resulted in the delivery of information—

(a) in the case of information falling to be delivered to the Board, if the delivery of the information has not been recorded on an official computer system; and

(b) in the case of information falling to be delivered by the Board, if the despatch of that information has not been recorded on an official computer system.

(3) The time of receipt of any information sent by an authorised means of electronic communications shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be that recorded on an official computer system.

Use of unauthorised means of electronic communications

10.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies to information which is required to be delivered to the Board in connection with the matters mentioned in regulation 2.

(2) The use of a means of electronic communications, for the purpose of delivering any information to which this paragraph applies, shall be conclusively presumed not to have resulted in the delivery of that information, unless—

(a) that means of electronic communications is for the time being approved for delivery of information of that kind; and

(b) the sender is approved for the use of that means of electronic communications in relation to information of that kind.

Nick Montagu

Helen Ghosh

Two of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue

23rd October 2003