2:

(1) For the purpose of establishing the amounts in which a person is chargeable to income tax and capital gains tax for a year of assessment, [and the amount payable by him by way of income tax for that year,] he may be required by a notice given to him by an officer of the board . . .

(a) to make and deliver to the officer, on or before the day mentioned in sub-section (1A) below, a return containing such information as may reasonably be required in pursuance of the notice, and

(b) to deliver with the return such accounts, statements and documents, relating to information contained in the return, as may reasonably be so required. . . .

(2) Every return under this section shall include a declaration by the person making the return to the effect that the return is to the best of his knowledge correct and complete.

20.

(1) Subject to this section, an inspector may by notice in writing require a person to deliver to him such documents as are in the person's possession or power and as (in the inspector's reasonable opinion) contain, or may contain, information relevant to any tax liability to which the person is or may be subject, or to the amount of any such liability.

(2) Subject to this section, the Board may by notice in writing require a person to deliver, to a named officer of theirs, such documents as are in the person's possession or power and as (in the Board's reasonable opinion) contain, or may contain, information relevant to any tax liability to which he is or may be subject, or to the amount of any such liability.

(3) Subject to this section, an inspector may, for the purpose of enquiring into the tax liability of any person ("the taxpayer"), by notice in writing require any of the persons who in relation to the taxpayer are subject to this subsection to deliver to the inspector or, if the person to whom the notice is given so elects, to make available for inspection by a named officer of the Board, such documents as are in his possession or power and as (in the inspector's reasonable opinion) contain, or may contain, information relevant to any tax liability to which the taxpayer is or may be, or may have been, subject, or to the amount of any such liability.

(4) The persons so subject are

(a) the taxpayer's spouse, and any son or daughter of his;

(b) in so far as the inspector's enquiries relate to liability of the taxpayer in respect of income, profits or gains that were, or may have been, derived from

(i) any business (past or present) carried on by the taxpayer or his spouse, or

(ii) any business (past or present) with whose management either of them was concerned at a material time,

any person who is carrying on a business, or was doing so at a material time, and any company whether carrying on a business or not.

(7) Notices under this section are not to be given by an inspector unless he is authorised by the Board for its purposes; and

(a) a notice is not to be given by him except with the consent of a General or Special Commissioner; and

(b) the Commissioner is to give his consent only on being satisfied that in all the circumstances the inspector is justified in proceeding under this section.

(9) To the extent specified in section 20B below, the above provisions are subject to the restrictions of that section.

20A.

(1) Where after the passing of the Finance Act 1976 a person

(a) is convicted of an offence in relation to tax (whenever committed) by or before any court in the United Kingdom; or

(b) has awarded against him a penalty incurred by him (whether before or after the passing of that Act) under section 99 of this Act,

and he has stood in relation to others as tax accountant, an inspector authorised by the Board for the purpose of this section may by notice in writing require the person to deliver to him such documents as are in his possession or power and as (in the inspector's reasonable opinion) contain information relevant to any tax liability to which any client of his is or has been, or may be or have been, subject, or to the amount of any such liability.

(2) For this purpose section 20(8) above applies, substituting "the client" for "the taxpayer."

(3) A notice is not to be given to any person under this section unless with the consent of the appropriate judicial authority; and that authority is to give his consent only on being satisfied that in all the circumstances the inspector is justified in so proceeding.

(5) To the extent specified in section 20B below, the above provisions are subject to the restrictions of that section.

20B

(1) Before a notice is given to a person by an inspector under section 20(1) or (3), or under section 20A, the person must have been given a reasonable opportunity to deliver (or, in the case of section 20(3), to deliver or make available) the documents in question; and the inspector must not apply for consent under section 20(7) or, as the case may be, section 20A(3), until the person has been given that opportunity.

(2) A notice under section 20(1) does not oblige a person to deliver documents relating to the conduct of any pending appeal by him; a notice under section 20(3) does not oblige a person to deliver or make available documents relating to the conduct of a pending appeal by the taxpayer; and a notice under section 20A does not oblige a person to deliver documents relating to the conduct of a pending appeal by the client.

"Appeal" means appeal relating to tax.

(3) An inspector cannot under section 20(1) or (3), or under section 20A(1), give notice to a barrister, advocate or solicitor, but the notice must in any such case be given (if at all) by the Board; and accordingly in relation to a barrister, advocate or solicitor for references in section 20(3) and (4) and section 20A to the inspector there are substituted references to the Board.

. . .

(8) A notice under section 20(3) or section 20A(1) does not oblige a barrister, advocate or a solicitor to deliver or make available, without his client's consent, any document with respect to which a claim to professional privilege could be maintained.

(9) A notice under section 20(3) does not, in the case of a person who (in the course of a business carried on by him) has stood in relation to another as tax accountant, oblige that person to deliver or make available documents which are his (the accountant's) property and originate as working papers of that relationship.

20C

(1) If the appropriate judicial authority is satisfied on information on oath given by an officer of the Board that—

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

in applying under this section, the officer acts with the approval of the Board given in relation to the particular case,

the authority 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.

(3) On entering the premises with a warrant under this section, the officer may seize and remove any things whatsoever found there which he has reasonable cause to believe may be required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect of such an offence as is mentioned in subsection (1) above.

But this does not authorise the seizure and removal of documents in the possession of a barrister, advocate or solicitor with respect to which a claim to professional privilege could be maintained.

20D

(1) For the purposes of section 20A and section 20C above, "the appropriate judicial authority" is -

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

(b) in Scotland, a sheriff; and

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

(2) For the purposes of sections 20 and 20A, a person stands in relation to another as tax accountant at any time when he assists the other in the preparation of returns or accounts to be made or delivered by the other for any purpose of tax; and his clients are all those to whom he stands or has stood in that relationship.

29:--

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) above, information is made available to an officer of the Board if-.

(a) it is contained in the taxpayer's return under section 8, 8A or 11 of this Act in respect of the relevant chargeable period (the return), or in any accounts, statements or documents accompanying the return;

(b) it is contained in any claim made as regards the relevant chargeable period by the taxpayer acting in the same capacity as that in which he made the return, or in any accounts, statements or documents accompanying any such claim;

(c) it is contained in any documents, accounts or particulars which, for the purposes of any enquiries into the return or any such claim by an officer of the Board, are produced or furnished by the taxpayer to the officer, whether in pursuance of a notice under section 19A of this Act or otherwise; or

(d) it is information the existence of which, and the relevance of which as regards the situation mentioned in subsection (1) above . . .

(i) could reasonably be expected to be inferred by an officer of the Board from information falling within paragraphs (a) to (c) above; or

(ii) are notified in writing by the taxpayer to an officer of the Board.

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33 Error or mistake

• (1) If any person who has paid tax charged under an assessment alleges that the assessment was excessive by reason of some error or mistake in a return, he may by notice in writing at any time not later than six years after the end of the year of assessment (or, if the assessment is to corporation tax, the end of the accounting period) in which the assessment was made, make a claim to the Board for relief.

  (2) On receiving the claim the Board shall inquire into the matter and shall, subject to the provisions of this section, give by way of repayment such relief in respect of the error or mistake as is reasonable and just: Provided that no relief shall be given under this section in respect of an error or mistake as to the basis on which the liability of the claimant ought to have been computed where the return was in fact made on the basis or in accordance with the practice generally prevailing at the time when the return was made.

  (3) In determining the claim the Board shall have regard to all the relevant circumstances of the case, and in particular shall consider whether the granting of relief would result in the exclusion from charge to tax of any part of the profits of the claimant, and for this purpose the Board may take into consideration the liability of the claimant and assessments made on him in respect of chargeable periods other than that to which the claim relates.

  (4) [Provision for appeals.]

  (5) In this section "profits" –

  (a) . . .

  (b) . . .

  (c) in relation to corporation tax, means profits as computed for the purposes of that tax.

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46:--

(2) Save as otherwise provided in the Taxes Acts or in the regulations under 56B of this Act, the determination of the General Commissioners... in any proceedings under the Taxes Acts shall be final and conclusive."

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56:--

(6) The High Court shall hear and determine any question or questions of law arising on a Case Stated and transmitted to the High Court under Regulation 22 of the General Commissioners’ Regulations, and shall reverse, affirm, or amend the determination in respect of which the case has been stated, or shall remit the matters to the Commissioners with the opinion of the Court theron or make such other order in relation to the matter as the Court may seem fit.

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66:--

(1) Tax due and payable ... may, in England and Wales ... without prejudice to any other remedy, be sued for and recovered from the person charged therewith as a debt due to the Crown by proceedings in a county court commenced in the name of a collector.

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68:--

(1) Any tax may be sued for and recovered from the person charged therewith in the High Court as a debt due to the Crown, or by any other means whereby any debt of record or otherwise due to the Crown can, or may at any time, be sued for and recovered, as well as by the other means specially provided by this Act in levying the tax."

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70:--

(1) Where tax is in arrear, a certificate of the inspector or any other officer of the Board" [that is, the Board of Inland Revenue] that tax has been charged and is due, together with a certificate of the collector that payment of the tax has not been made to him, or, to the best of his knowledge and belief, to any other collector, or to any person acting on his behalf or on behalf of another collector, shall be sufficient evidence that the sum mentioned in the certificate is unpaid and is due to the Crown; and any document purporting to be such a certificate as is mentioned in this subsection shall be deemed to be such a certificate until the contrary is proved.

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87:--

(1) Any tax assessable in accordance with Schedule 13 or 16 to [ICTA 1988] shall carry interest at the rate applicable under section 178 of the Finance Act 1989 from the date when the tax becomes due and payable until payment.

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