Can HMRC officers exercise the Commissioners' functions under section 13 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005?

Yes, under section 13 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, an officer of Revenue and Customs may exercise any function of the Commissioners. This broadly continues arrangements from predecessor departments. However, officers must comply with any directions issued by the Commissioners and any arrangements limiting or excluding the exercise of particular functions.

Which functions are non-delegable and reserved exclusively to the Commissioners under section 13 CRCA 2005?

Certain functions cannot be delegated to officers. These include making regulations, rules, or orders by statutory instrument, which must always be made by the Commissioners themselves. Additionally, giving general instructions for public interest disclosure of information under section 20 is reserved to the Commissioners, ensuring formal legislative and policy decisions remain at the highest level.

Can an HMRC officer authorise public interest disclosure of information without referring to the Commissioners?

An HMRC officer may authorise disclosure of specified information where it relates to one or more named persons, particular transactions, or specified goods. This allows officers to handle individual, specific disclosure cases on a day-to-day basis. However, general instructions permitting routine disclosure of whole categories of taxpayer information must come from the Commissioners themselves.

What restrictions apply to HMRC officers exercising Commissioners' functions under section 13?

Officers must comply with directions given by the Commissioners under section 2(3) and arrangements made under section 12 of the Act. These directions and arrangements can restrict or exclude officers from exercising certain functions. Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Act also places further restrictions on officers exercising Commissioners' functions.

Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 section 13

Exercise of Commissioners' functions by officers

Section 13 allows HMRC officers to exercise the Commissioners' functions in most cases, but reserves certain key functions exclusively to the Commissioners themselves.

HMRC officers may exercise any function of the Commissioners, continuing arrangements that existed under the predecessor departments
Certain functions are non-delegable and reserved exclusively to the Commissioners, including making regulations, rules or orders by statutory instrument
The power of officers to act is subject to any directions issued by the Commissioners and any arrangements the Commissioners have put in place, which may limit or exclude officers from exercising particular functions
Instructions for public interest disclosure of information are generally reserved to the Commissioners, but officers may authorise disclosure of specific information relating to named persons, particular transactions, or specified goods

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