The Special Commissioners (Jurisdiction and Procedure) Regulations 1994

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for the procedure and practice to be followed in connection with appeals to, and other proceedings before, the Special Commissioners and also deal with jurisdictional matters relating to such proceedings. Regulations governing procedure and jurisdiction have also been made in relation to the General Commissioners (S.I. 1994/1812), and a third set of Regulations contains amendments and repeals of primary and secondary legislation relating to procedure and jurisdiction in proceedings before the General Commissioners and Special Commissioners (S.I. 1994/1813).

The Regulations are in a number of parts, of which Part I (regulations 1 and 2) is introductory. Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and application, and regulation 2 contains definitions.

Part II (regulations 3 to 12) deals with the listing of proceedings (regulation 3), and matters preparatory to the hearing of proceedings, namely the power of the Special Commissioners to give directions (regulation 4) or summon witnesses (regulation 5), agreement on documentary and expert evidence (regulations 6 and 12), joining of additional parties (regulation 8), preliminary hearings (regulation 9), the power of the Special Commissioners to obtain information (regulation 10), and joining and postponement of proceedings (regulations 7 and 11).

Part III (regulations 13 to 21) deals with the hearing itself, and includes regulations relating to representation at the hearing (regulation 14), hearings in public or in private (regulation 15), failure to attend the hearing (regulation 16), procedure and evidence at the hearing (regulation 17), decisions of the Special Commissioners and publication of those decisions (regulations 18 to 20), and costs (regulation 21).

Part IV (regulations 22 to 24) provides special procedural rules for capital gains tax appeals where questions relating to the market value of assets are involved (regulation 22), for referring questions of value to other tribunals (regulation 23), and for the recovery of penalties (regulation 24).

Part V (regulations 25 to 28) contains miscellaneous provisions dealing with procedural irregularities (regulation 25), notices required by the Regulations (regulation 26) and service of documents (regulations 27 and 28).