The Income and Corporation Taxes (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2003

• Citation: S.I. 2003/282
• Sections: 11

Section 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Income and Corporation Taxes (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 5th March 2003.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;

“the Management Act ” means the Taxes Management Act 1970 ;

“official computer system” means a computer system maintained by or on behalf of the Board—

to send or receive information or payments, or

to process or store information; and

“the Taxes Act ” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 .

(3) References in these Regulations to information and to the delivery of information shall be construed in accordance with section 132(8) of the Finance Act 1999.

Section 2 Scope of these Regulations

(1) These Regulations apply to—

(a) the delivery of information, to or by the Board, the delivery of which is authorised or required by or under—

(i) any provision of section 8, 8A, 9, 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 12AA, 12AB 12AC, 12AD, 12AE, 59DA or 59E of the Management Act ,

(ii) Schedule 1A to the Management Act ,

(iii) section 30 or 36 of the Finance Act 1998, or

(iv) Schedule 18 to the Finance Act 1998 ; and

(b) the making of any payment or repayment of tax or other sums in connection with the operation of those provisions.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations affects the operation of the Electronic Lodgement of Tax Returns Order 1997 .

Section 3 Restriction on the use of electronic communications

(1) The Board may only use electronic communications in connection with the matters referred to in regulation 2(1) if—

(a) the recipient has indicated that he consents to the Board using electronic communications in connection with those matters; and

(b) the Board have not been informed that that consent has been withdrawn.

(2) A person other than the Board may only use electronic communications in connection with the matters referred to in regulation 2(1) if the conditions specified in paragraphs (3) to (6) are satisfied.

(3) The first condition is that the person is for the time being permitted to use electronic communications for the purpose in question by an authorisation given by means of a direction of the Board.

(4) The second condition is that the person uses—

(a) an approved method for authenticating the identity of the sender of the communication;

(b) an approved method of electronic communications; and

(c) an approved method for authenticating any information delivered by means of electronic communications.

(5) The third condition is that any information or payment sent by means of electronic communications is in a form approved for the purpose of these Regulations.

Here “form” includes the manner in which the information is presented.

(6) The fourth condition is that the person maintains such records in written or electronic form as may be specified in a general or specific direction of the Board.

(7) In this regulation “approved” means approved, for the purposes of these Regulations and for the time being, by means of a general or specific direction of the Board.

Section 4 Use of intermediaries

The Board may use intermediaries in connection with—

(a) the delivery of information or the making of payments or repayments by means of electronic communications in connection with the matters referred to in regulation 2(1), and

(b) the authentication or security of anything transmitted by such means,

and may require other persons to use intermediaries in connection with those matters.

Section 5 Effect of delivering information by means of electronic communications

(1) Information to which these Regulations apply, and which is delivered by means of electronic communications, shall be treated as having been delivered, in the manner or form required by any provision of the Taxes Act or the Management Act if, but only if, all the conditions imposed by—

(a) these Regulations,

(b) any other applicable enactment (except to the extent that the condition thereby imposed is incompatible with these Regulations), and

(c) any specific or general direction given by the Board,

are satisfied.

(2) Information delivered by means of electronic communications shall be treated as having been delivered on the day on which the last of the conditions imposed as mentioned in paragraph (1) is satisfied.

This is subject to paragraphs (3) and (4).

(3) The Board may by a general or specific direction provide for information to be treated as delivered upon a different date (whether earlier or later) than that given by paragraph (2).

(4) Information shall not be taken to have been delivered to an official computer system by means of electronic communications unless it is accepted by the system to which it is delivered.

Section 6 Proof of content

(1) A document certified by an officer of the Board to be a printed-out version of any information delivered by means of electronic communications under these Regulations on any occasion shall be evidence, unless the contrary is proved, that that information—

(a) was delivered by means of electronic communications on that occasion; and

(b) constitutes the entirety of what was delivered on that occasion.

(2) A document purporting to be a certificate given in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be presumed to be such a certificate unless the contrary is proved.

Section 7 Proof of sender or recipient

The identity of—

(a) the sender of any information delivered to an official computer system by means of electronic communications under these Regulations, or

(b) the recipient of any information delivered by means of electronic communications from an official computer system,

shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the person recorded as such on an official computer system.

Section 8 Information delivered electronically on another’s behalf

Any information delivered by an approved method of electronic communications on behalf of any person shall be deemed to have been delivered by him unless he proves that it was delivered without his knowledge or connivance.

Section 9 Proof of delivery of information and payments

(1) The use of an authorised method of electronic communications shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have resulted in the making of a payment or the delivery of information—

(a) in the case of information falling to be delivered, or a payment falling to be made, to the Board, if the making of the payment or the delivery of the information has been recorded on an official computer system; and

(b) in the case of information falling to be delivered, or a payment falling to be made, by the Board, if the despatch of that payment or information has been recorded on an official computer system.

(2) The use of an authorised method of electronic communications shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, not to have resulted in the making of a payment, or the delivery of information—

(a) in the case of information falling to be delivered, or a payment falling to be made, to the Board, if the making of the payment or the delivery of the information has not been recorded on an official computer system; and

(b) in the case of information falling to be delivered, or a payment falling to be made, by the Board, if the despatch of that payment or information has not been recorded on an official computer system.

(3) The time of receipt of any information or payment sent by an authorised means of electronic communications shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be that recorded on an official computer system.

Section 10 Use of unauthorised means of electronic communications

(1) Paragraph (2) applies to information which is required to be delivered to the Board in connection with the matters mentioned in regulation 2(1).

(2) The use of a means of electronic communications, for the purpose of delivering any information to which this paragraph applies, shall be conclusively presumed not to have resulted in the delivery of that information, unless—

(a) that means of electronic communications is for the time being approved for delivery of information of that kind; and

(b) the sender is approved for the use of that means of electronic communications in relation to information of that kind.

Section 11 Revocation and saving

(1) There are revoked—

(a) the Income Tax (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2000 ; and

(b) Part 2 of the Income Tax (Electronic Communications) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2001 and, in regulation 1(2) of those Regulations, the definition of “the Electronic Communications Regulations”.

(2) Notwithstanding the revocations in paragraph (1), any direction given by the Board under the provisions revoked, to the extent that it could be given under these Regulations, shall continue to have effect as if given under these Regulations.