Taxes Management Act 1970 section 20C

Entry with warrant to obtain documents

Section 20C provided HMRC with the power to enter premises under a warrant issued by a judge to obtain documents relevant to a tax investigation.

• HMRC officers could apply to a circuit judge for a warrant authorising entry to premises to search for and seize documents relevant to a tax fraud investigation.
• A warrant could only be granted where the judge was satisfied that there were reasonable grounds to believe a serious tax fraud had been committed and that relevant documents were on the premises.
• The warrant authorised officers to enter the premises, by force if necessary, search for documents, and remove them for inspection, with appropriate safeguards for legally privileged material.
• This section was repealed by the Finance Act 2007, which replaced these powers with a modernised framework for HMRC information-gathering under Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008.

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