Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. —(1) These Rules may be cited as the Value Added TaxTribunals (Amendment) Rules 2003 and shall come into force on 1st December 2003.

(2) In these Rules a rule referred to by number alone means the rule so numbered in the Value Added TaxTribunals Rules 1986( 3 ).

Amendments to Value Added Tax Tribunals Rules 1986

2. In rule 2 (definitions)—

(a) after the definition of “the 2001 Act” insert—

“the 2003 Act” means the Finance Act 2003( 4 );

(b) in the definition of “appellant”, after “2001 Act” insert “or section 36 of the 2003 Act”;

(c) in the definition of “evasion penalty appeal”, after “2001 Act” insert “, or section 25 or 28 of the 2003 Act,”;

(d) in the definition of “mitigation appeal”, after “2001 Act” insert “or section 29 of the 2003 Act”;

(e) in the definition of “reasonable excuse appeal”—

(i) for “section 10(4)” substitute “section 10(1)( 5 );

(ii) after “2001 Act” insert “or section 27 of the 2003 Act”.

3. In rule 4(3) (time for appealing), for “or section 40(8) of the 2001 Act” substitute “section 40(8) of the 2001 Act or section 35(4) of the 2003 Act”.

4. In rule 7(1)(a) (statement of case etc ), after “making of the penalty assessment” insert “or, as the case may be, the ascertainment of the penalty” and after “making of the assessment for” insert “, or, as the case may be, the ascertainment of,”.

5. In rule 8 (statement of case etc), after “is assessed” insert “or, as the case may be, demanded”.

6. In rule 8A (further provisions about statement of case)—

(a) after “with respect to an assessment” insert “or a demand notice (as defined by section 30(1) of the 2003 Act)”;

(b) after “specified in the assessment” insert “or, as the case may be, demand notice”.

7. In rule 19(3A) (power of tribunal to extend time and give directions), after “2001 Act” insert “or section 28 of the 2003 Act”.

8. In rule 20(1A), after “2001 Act” insert “or section 33 of the 2003 Act”.

9. —(1) In rule 29(1)(b) (award and direction as to costs), for “taxed by a Taxing Master of the Supreme Court or a district judge of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales or by” substitute “assessed by a Taxing Master of the Supreme Court or a district judge of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales by way of detailed assessment or taxed”.

(2) In rule 29(2), for “Order 62 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1965” substitute “Part 47 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998( 6 ) and any practice directions supplementing that Part”.

10. —(1) In rule 31(1), after “facsimile transmission process” insert “or telex or other means of electronic communication which produces a text of the document, in which event the document shall be regarded as sent when the text of it is received in legible form”.

(2) For rule 31(2) substitute—

“ (2) Any notice of appeal, notice of application or other document (including a facsimile of a document received by facsimile transmission process or telex or other means of electronic communication which produces a text of the document) may be—

(a) sent by post in a letter addressed to a proper officer at the appropriate tribunal centre; or

(b) handed back to the person from whom it was received; or

(c) sent by post in a letter addressed to the person from whom it appears to have been received or by whom it appears to have been sent; or

(d) if a facsimile of a document is received by facsimile transmission process or telex or other means of electronic communication which produces a text of the document, sent by the means by which it was received, either to a proper officer at the appropriate tribunal centre or to the person from whom it appears to have been received or by whom it appears to have been sent. ” .

11. In rule 32(4), after “facsimile transmission process” insert “or telex or other means of electronic communication which produces a text of the document, in which event the document shall be regarded as sent when the text of it is received in legible form”.