Commentary on Sections General Functions Section 317: Director’s general Revenue functions
445.Subsection (1) sets out the qualifying condition which must be satisfied before the Director of the Assets Recovery Agency can take over general Revenue functions (defined at section 323(1)). The condition is that the Director must have reasonable grounds to suspect that income, profits or gains arising or accruing to a person (including a company) in respect of a chargeable period are chargeable to tax and arise or accrue as a result of that person’s, or another’s, criminal conduct. Criminal conduct is defined in section 326.
446.If this condition is satisfied, then subsection (2) allows the Director to serve a notice on the Board of the Inland Revenue that has the effect of vesting certain functions of the Inland Revenue in the Director.
447.The notice served on the Board of the Inland Revenue will specify a number of things. These will include adequate details to identify the relevant person or company, the chargeable periods in question and also the particular functions that the Director wishes to assume responsibility for. These may be some or all of the functions listed in section 323(1). The notice will also specify the particular tax periods during which the income, profits or gains are suspected of arising as a result of criminal conduct.
448.Subsection (3) gives effect to the vesting of the Revenue functions in the Director, while subsection (4) allows the Director to serve on the Board a notice of withdrawal of the notice under subsection (2). Subsection (4)(b) provides that such a notice must be served if the qualifying condition ceases to be satisfied.
449.Subsection (6) states that when a notice of withdrawal is served under subsection (4) above, the Director is divested of the functions specified in that notice and for the periods specified in that notice. Subsection (7) provides for the tax function to be vested in both the Director and the Inland Revenue officers concurrently. This will allow, among other things, routine work to be carried out by the Inland Revenue notwithstanding that the functions are also vested in the Director
450.Subsection (8) provides that in circumstances where authorisation of the Board would normally be required for the exercise of a function it is not necessary if the function is vested in the Director.