Commentary Inspection and oversight Section 32: Payment of revenue to the Commissioners
130.Section 32 requires the Director (subsection (1)) and the Secretary of State (subsection (2)) to pay to the Commissioners any money received by way of revenue or security in the exercise of, as regards the Director, customs revenue functions and, in relation to the Secretary of State, general customs functions. Subsection (3) provides that any such payment by the Director or Secretary of State must be made at such times and in such manner as the Treasury directs and after deductions of payments in connection with drawback and repayments.
131.Subsection (4) provides that, should they consider the funds available to the Director or Secretary of State insufficient to cover any payment due in connection with drawback or repayment, the Commissioners may pay money to the Director or Secretary of State as applicable to enable the necessary payment or repayment to be made, or may themselves make a payment or repayment on behalf of the Director or the Secretary of State. Subsection (5) provides that subsection (4) will apply whether or not the reason for the deficiency is or may be that an amount has been paid or retained on the basis of an estimate that has proved or may prove inaccurate.
132.Subsection (6) provides that a payment by the Commissioners under subsection (4) is to be treated for the purposes of the CRCA 2005 as a disbursement of a kind specified in section 44(3) of that Act. Section 44(3) of the CRCA 2005 covers the arrangements for payment by the Commissioners into the Consolidated Fund and provides that such payment should be made after the deduction of any disbursements covered by section 44(3). Subsection (7) provides definitions of the terms “repayments”, “revenue” and “security for revenue” for the purposes of section 32.