[F1303GCode of practice: Secretary of StateU.K.
(1)The Secretary of State must make a code of practice in connection with the exercise by officers of Revenue and Customs, SFO officers and (in relation to England and Wales) constables and accredited financial investigators of the powers conferred by section 303C.
(2)Where the Secretary of State proposes to issue a code of practice, the Secretary of State must—
(a)publish a draft,
(b)consider any representations made about the draft by the Scottish Ministers, the Department of Justice or any other person, and
(c)if the Secretary of State thinks it appropriate, modify the draft in the light of any such representations.
(3)The Secretary of State must also consult the Attorney General about the draft in its application to the exercise of powers by SFO officers and the Director of the Serious Fraud Office.
(4)The Secretary of State must lay a draft of the code before Parliament.
(5)When the Secretary of State has laid a draft of the code before Parliament, the Secretary of State may bring it into operation by regulations.
(6)The Secretary of State may revise the whole or any part of the code and issue the code as revised; and subsections (2) to (5) apply to such a revised code as they apply to the original code.
(7)A failure by an officer of Revenue and Customs, an SFO officer, a constable or an accredited financial investigator to comply with a provision of the code does not of itself make him or her liable to criminal or civil proceedings.
(8)The code is admissible in evidence in criminal or civil proceedings and is to be taken into account by a court or tribunal in any case in which it appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant.]
Textual Amendments
F1Pt. 5 Ch. 3A inserted (27.4.2017 for specified purposes, 31.10.2017 for the insertion of ss. 303G, 303H for E.W.S. so far as not already in force, 30.1.2018 for the insertion of s. 303E(4) for E.W.S. so far as not already in force, 16.4.2018 for E.W.S. in so far as not already in force, 28.6.2021 for N.I. in so far as not already in force) by Criminal Finances Act 2017 (c. 22), ss. 15, 58(1)(6); S.I. 2017/991, reg. 2(d); S.I. 2018/78, regs. 2(a), 4(b); S.I. 2021/724, reg. 2(1)(f)