Finance Act 1995

Section 34.

SCHEDULE 5U.K. Insurance Premium Tax

1U.K.Part III of the M1Finance Act 1994 (insurance premium tax) shall be amended as provided by this Schedule.

2(1)Section 53 (registration of insurers) shall be amended as follows.U.K.

(2)In subsection (5) (Commissioners to cancel registration of person who ceases to receive premiums)—

(a)the word “ and ” shall be inserted after paragraph (a);

(b)paragraph (c) (person to satisfy Commissioners that no tax is unpaid) and the word “and” immediately preceding it shall be omitted.

(3)The following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (5)—

“(5A)In a case where—

(a)the Commissioners are satisfied that a person has ceased to receive, as insurer, premiums in the course of any taxable business, but

(b)he has not notified them under subsection (3) above,

they may cancel his registration with effect from the earliest practicable time after he so ceased.”

(4)Sub-paragraph (2) above shall apply in relation to notifications made under section 53(3) on or after the day on which this Act is passed.

3U.K.Section 53 shall be further amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1)—

“(1A)The register kept under this section may contain such information as the Commissioners think is required for the purposes of the care and management of the tax.”

4U.K.The following section shall be inserted after section 53—

“53A Information required to keep register up to date.

(1)Regulations may make provision requiring a registrable person to notify the Commissioners of particulars which—

(a)are of changes in circumstances relating to the registrable person or any business carried on by him,

(b)appear to the Commissioners to be required for the purpose of keeping the register kept under section 53 above up to date, and

(c)are of a prescribed description.

(2)Regulations may make provision—

(a)as to the time within which a notification is to be made;

(b)as to the form and manner in which a notification is to be made;

(c)requiring a person who has made a notification to notify the Commissioners if any information contained in it is inaccurate.”

5(1)Section 59 (review of Commissioners’ decisions) shall be amended as follows.U.K.

(2)In subsection (1)(d) (review of decision with respect to assessment) for the words “under section 56 above” there shall be substituted “ falling within subsection (1A) below ”.

(3)The following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (1)—

“(1A)An assessment falls within this subsection if it is an assessment under section 56 above in respect of an accounting period in relation to which a return required to be made by virtue of regulations under section 54 above has been made.”

(4)This paragraph shall apply in relation to assessments made on or after the day on which this Act is passed.

6U.K.In section 73(1) (interpretation) after the entry relating to “conduct” there shall be inserted—

““insurance business” means a business which consists of or includes the provision of insurance;”.

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8(1)In Schedule 7 the following shall be inserted after paragraph 4—U.K.

“ Order for access to recorded information etc.U.K.

4A(1)Where, on an application by an authorised person, a justice of the peace or, in Scotland, a justice (within the meaning of section 462 of the M2Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975) is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing—

(a)that an offence in connection with tax is being, has been or is about to be committed, and

(b)that any recorded information (including any document of any nature whatsoever) which may be required as evidence for the purpose of any proceedings in respect of such an offence is in the possession of any person,

he may make an order under this paragraph.

(2)An order under this paragraph is an order that the person who appears to the justice to be in possession of the recorded information to which the application relates shall—

(a)give an authorised person access to it, and

(b)permit an authorised person to remove and take away any of it which he reasonably considers necessary,

not later than the end of the period of 7 days beginning on the date of the order or the end of such longer period as the order may specify.

(3)The reference in sub-paragraph (2)(a) above to giving an authorised person access to the recorded information to which the application relates includes a reference to permitting the authorised person to take copies of it or to make extracts from it.

(4)Where the recorded information consists of information contained in a computer, an order under this paragraph shall have effect as an order to produce the information in a form in which it is visible and legible and, if the authorised person wishes to remove it, in a form in which it can be removed.

(5)This paragraph is without prejudice to paragraphs 3 and 4 above.”

(2)In paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 7 (duty to provide record of anything removed in exercise of power) after the words “paragraph 4” there shall be inserted “ or 4A ”.

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