§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will detail the powers of search and entry of officials of Customs and Excise, and state in what ways, if any, they differ from those held by the police.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonApart from the general powers given to officers of Customs and Excise under Section 296 of the Customs and Excise Act 1952 to enter premises to search for goods liable to forfeiture, provided they have a writ of assistance or a search warrant issued by a justice of the peace, there are several statutory provisions giving a right of entry to particular places or premises for a particular purpose. Broadly, these specific povisions give the right of access to the coast and aerodromes and power to board vessels, aircraft and vehicles for the preventing of smuggling; power to enter premises used by excise traders, such as brewers and tobacco manufacturers, for the purpose of enforcing excise law; and power to enter business premises for enforcement of VAT law.
The specific powers, which are, in general, designed to detect and deter tax evaders, vary in their extent, being in some cases limited to entry and inspection and in other cases to entry and search. If the hon. Member has a particular aspect of these powers or a particular case in mind, perhaps he will write to me.
The powers of entry and search by the police are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Home Department, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.