Taxes Management Act 1970

2 General Commissioners

(1) For the purpose of exercising such powers relating to appeals and other matters as are conferred on them by the Taxes Acts there shall be " Commissioners for the general purposes of the income tax " (in the Taxes Acts referred to as " General Commissioners ") who shall act for the same separate areas in Great Britain as heretofore (in the Taxes Acts referred to as "divisions ").

(2) General Commissioners for divisions in England and Wales shall be appointed by, and shall hold office during the pleasure of, the Lord Chancellor.

(3) General Commissioners for divisions in Scotland shall be appointed by, and shall hold office during the pleasure of, the appropriate local authority, but any such General Commissioner shall not be dismissed except with the consent in writing of the Lord President of the Court of Session. For the purposes of this subsection the appropriate local authority is—

(a) in the case of a division wholly within a county or a county of a city, the county council or the town council of the county of the city, as the case may be, and

(b) in the case of any other division, such county council or town council of a county of a city as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine,

and any appointments under this subsection shall be made at the request of the Board.

(4) In Scotland a sheriff shall be ex officio a General Commissioner for any division wholly or partly within his sheriffdom and a salaried sheriff-substitute shall be ex officio a General Commissioner for any division wholly or partly within his district.

(5) General Commissioners shall be entitled to receive out of moneys provided by Parliament payments by way of travelling allowance or subsistence allowance of such amounts and in such circumstances as may be determined by the Treasury.

(6) The Lord Chancellor or, in Scotland, the Secretary of State may by order create a new division or abolish an existing division or alter in any other respect the divisions or their boundaries ; and any such order may contain such consequential and transitional provisions as the Lord Chancellor or the Secretary of State, as the case may be, thinks fit and may be revoked or varied by a subsequent order under this subsection.

Subject to the preceding provisions of this subsection, the areas of the divisions shall be the same as immediately before the passing of this Act.

(7) A General Commissioner shall not continue in office after he attains the age of seventy-five years.

(8) The validity of any proceedings of General Commissioners shall not be affected by a defect in the appointment of any of them, or by a failure to observe the requirements of the last preceding subsection.