Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005
Encyclopedia
The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c 11) is an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
which combined the Inland Revenue
and HM Customs and Excise into a single government department
, HM Revenue and Customs. The Act also established the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office
, and provided for inspections of HMRC by HM Inspectors of Constabulary to ensure that it complies with the law.
In combining the two revenue departments into one, the Act implemented the recommendation of the O'Donnell Review. The Act provides for the new department to inherit the powers of the old departments, pending a comprehensive review of revenue powers. Following some controversy in the Parliamentary debates, the Act also expressly provides for a duty to keep information confidential
, with criminal penalties for wrongful disclosure.
The separation of prosecution functions to an independent body followed recommendations in the Gower Hammond Report and the Butterfield Report into failed prosecutions.
The Bill
that became the Act was introduced to Parliament
in the House of Commons
on 24 November 2004, completed its stages in the House of Commons on 16 January 2005, completed its stages in the House of Lords
on 5 April 2005. Lords' Amendments were considered by the House of Commons on 6 April 2005 and the Act received Royal Assent
on 7 April 2005. The merger of the revenue bodies, and creation of RCPO, took effect 11 days later.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
which combined the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
and HM Customs and Excise into a single government department
Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
, HM Revenue and Customs. The Act also established the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office
The Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office was a non-departmental public body created under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 as an independent prosecution body to take responsibility in the England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the prosecution of criminal offences in cases...
, and provided for inspections of HMRC by HM Inspectors of Constabulary to ensure that it complies with the law.
In combining the two revenue departments into one, the Act implemented the recommendation of the O'Donnell Review. The Act provides for the new department to inherit the powers of the old departments, pending a comprehensive review of revenue powers. Following some controversy in the Parliamentary debates, the Act also expressly provides for a duty to keep information confidential
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several professions . In ethics, and in law and alternative forms of legal resolution such as mediation, some types of communication between a person and one of these professionals are "privileged" and may not be discussed or divulged to...
, with criminal penalties for wrongful disclosure.
The separation of prosecution functions to an independent body followed recommendations in the Gower Hammond Report and the Butterfield Report into failed prosecutions.
The Bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
that became the Act was introduced to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on 24 November 2004, completed its stages in the House of Commons on 16 January 2005, completed its stages in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 5 April 2005. Lords' Amendments were considered by the House of Commons on 6 April 2005 and the Act received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 7 April 2005. The merger of the revenue bodies, and creation of RCPO, took effect 11 days later.
Section 53 - Commencement
The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (Commencement) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1126 (C. 51)) was made under section 53(1).External links
- The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, as amended from the National Archives.
- The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, as originally enacted from the National Archives.
- Explanatory notes to the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.
- Progress of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Bill