HMRC using 80 Writs of Assistance (General Warrants to search premises)

A reply (not quite within the Statutory 20 working days) from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs regarding the number of Writs of Assistance, used to search premises, which, astonishingly, last for the indeterminate period
of the "reign of the current monarch" plus 6 months !.

Writs of Assistance are issued at the commencement of a Monarch's reign; they are not issued on an annual basis HMRC currently has 80 Writs of Assistance for use in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern lreland

The FOIA response:

[name]

Email: [email address]

HM Revenue & Customs
Complaints, FOI & DPA Team
s1177
PO Box 198
Newcastle
NE98 1ZZ
Phone 03000 567151
Fax 03000 577655
Web hmrc.gov.uk

Email [email address]@hmrc gsi.gov.uk


Our ref
Your ref
Date: 9 July 2015

FOI nnnn/15

Dear [name]

Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

I refer to your request, which was received on 6 June 2015, for the following information

"1) How many "Writs of Assisfance" has Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (or Customs and Excise) obtained under the Customs and Excise Management Act
1979 section 161

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/2/section/161

or other equivalent legal powers in force prior to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, in the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll. ldeally this figure should be broken down by annual totals since 1979

N.B. This is NOT a request for any sensitive details of any ongoing investigations."

I do apologise for the delay in replying.

I am answering under the terms of the Freedom of lnformation Act 2OOO (FOIA) Writs of Assistance are issued at the commencement of a Monarch's reign; they are not issued on an annual basis HMRC currently has 80 Writs of Assistance for use in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern lreland

lf you are not happy with this reply you may request a review by writing to HMRC FOI Team, Room 1C123, 100 Parliament Street, London SWIA 2BQ or e-mailing foi.review@hmrc.qsi.oov.uk You must request a review within 2 months of the date of this letter. lt would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why you are dissatisfied.

lf you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you may apply direcfly to the lnformation Commissioner for a decision. The lnformation Commissioner will not consider a case unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by HMRC. He can be contacted at The lnformation Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 SAF.

Yours sincerely

[name of civil servant]
(by e-mail)

Who wants to know more details about these indeterminate length General Warrants ?

Why are 80 warrants needed ? Are they geographically based e.g. one for each Port or Airport ?

Why are these intrusive powers not independently reviewed e.g. annually ?

How can indeterminate length non-judicial authorisations for intrusive search powers be valid under the Human Rights Acts ?

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This United Kingdom based blog has been spawned from Spy Blog, and is meant to provide a place to track our Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests to United Kingdom Government and other Public Authorities.

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