The Revenue and Customs (Complaints and Misconduct) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Regulation 32(c) amends regulation 43 of the principal Regulations to update the time period for an appropriate authority to wait until treating a matter as withdrawn by the complainant. Regulation 40 substitutes regulation 51 of the principal Regulations and includes a new requirement for the Director General or the appropriate authority to write to the complainant to establish their views when related criminal proceedings have been concluded. Similar time periods are introduced for a complainant to make representations relating to the resumption of an investigation after criminal proceedings.

New power for IOPC to issue information notices

Regulation 37 inserts new regulations 48A to 48C into the principal Regulations. New regulation 48A confers a new power for the Director General of the IOPC to serve an information notice on any person, requiring that person to provide the Director General with information that is reasonably required for the purposes of an investigation being carried out by the Director General. It also sets out what an information notice may not require a person to do or provide (paragraph (2)), what the notice must specify including the time period for compliance and a right of appeal (paragraph (3)), and cancellation of the notice by the Director General. New regulation 48B sets out the consequences for failure to comply with a regulation 48A information notice, which can lead to inquiry by the High Court and dealing with the person as if they had committed contempt of court. New regulation 48C sets out a right of appeal against the service of a information notice, and the actions the First-tier Tribunal can take.

Amendments to existing requirements to provide information

Regulation 44 amends regulation 56 of the principal Regulations. It inserts new paragraph (2A) which fixes the time limits for the person whose conduct is being investigated to respond to a notice given under regulation 56(1). New paragraphs (2B), (2C) and (3A) deal with the provision of the terms of reference of the investigation, or an explanation of why terms of reference of the investigation are not being provided, to be given to that person.

Regulation 45(b) omits regulation 59(8) of the principal Regulations. It removes a discretion given to the Director General, and the appropriate authority, to determine when a progress notification should be made in cases where there has been minimal or no progress since the last update.

Regulation 46(a)(i), (b) and (c) update regulation 60 of the principal Regulations which deals with exceptions to duties to keep certain people informed during investigations. New paragraph (1A) is added to set out the duties which are subject to the exception and expands the list (previously set out in paragraph (1)) to includes new duties added by these Regulations. Paragraph (5)(a) and (b) of regulation 60, which deals with exceptions related to disciplinary proceedings, is also updated to include appeals against such proceedings.

Final reports on investigations

Regulation 52 amends regulation 67 of the principal Regulations to replace the power of the Director General of the IOPC to make a recommendation (in respect of whether an officer has a disciplinary case to answer and whether there should be disciplinary proceedings) with a power to make a determination in respect of such matters, having first consulted with the appropriate authority, and to issue directions. Regulations 15, 48(b) and 56 make consequential amendments to regulations 26, 62 and 71 of the principal Regulations to include references to determinations made by the Director General under regulation 67.

Regulation 52 also amends regulation 67 of the principal Regulations to add a requirement to provide a copy of the final report, or relevant parts of the final report to a person whose conduct was the subject of the investigation, if it is determined by the Director General that no disciplinary proceedings are to be brought. A copy of the final report, or part of it, can be withheld or redacted so new regulation 14A is not contravened. Equivalent amendments are made by regulation 53 to regulation 68 of the principal Regulations, in relation to determinations made by the appropriate authority.

Power to require re-investigation

Regulation 55 inserts new regulations 70A to 70D into the principal Regulations.

New regulation 70A provides a power for the Director General of the IOPC to require a matter that has been investigated to be re-investigated. The re-investigation takes the form directed by the Director General. As a consequence, regulation 52(b) amends regulation 67 of the principal Regulations to provide that a determination under that regulation will not be made if there is to be a re-investigation.

New regulation 70B provides a power for the Director General of the IOPC to make a non-disciplinary recommendation to the appropriate authority following an IOPC or directed investigation into a complaint or a review, with a view to remedying that complaint. This may be any kind of recommendation, other than compensation, which the Director General considers appropriate to remedy the complaint, for example an apology.

New regulation 70C provides a power for the Director General of the IOPC to make recommendations in relation to any matter dealt with in an IOPC or directed investigation, or an IOPC review. Any such recommendations are to be published and new regulation 70D provides a framework for responding to recommendations and the publication of such responses.

Reviews of investigations

Regulation 59 amends regulation 74 of the principal Regulations, which governs what recourse a complainant has if the complainant remains dissatisfied with the outcome of any complaint investigated by the appropriate authority on its own behalf. It provides for a single right of review of the outcome of the complaint, under which the Director General of the IOPC may determine whether the outcome was reasonable and proportionate. Where it is determined that the outcome is not reasonable and proportionate, the Director General may make their own findings, direct a reinvestigation, or give a recommendation on disciplinary proceedings. Where a recommendation is made and the appropriate authority does not take steps to give effect to that recommendation, the Director General retains the power (previously provided for in regulation 71 of the principal Regulations) to direct the appropriate authority to take such steps. As a consequence:

• regulation 57 amends the Part heading of Part 9 of the principal Regulations, and regulation 58 omits regulation 73 of the principal Regulations, to reflect the change to a single point of review, and

• regulations 7(a), 25(b), 32(a) and (b), 48(a), 49, 53(c) and (d), 56 and 60 make consequential amendments to regulations 12, 37, 43, 62, 63, 68, 71 and 75 of the principal Regulations, respectively, to reflect the change to a single point of review and the outcomes available to the Director General.

Other miscellaneous amendments

Regulation 4 makes consequential amendments to regulation 5 of the principal Regulations which applies relevant provisions of the Police Reform Act 2002 with modification.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 8 of the principal Regulations to broaden the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s power to require reports from the Director General of the IOPC, and from the IOPC, about the carrying out of HMRC oversight functions.

Regulation 6(b) amends regulation 9 of the principal Regulations to include a definition of “the person in question”, a term used in paragraph (8) of that regulation.

A full Impact Assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2005 c. 11; section 28 was amended by section 21(2) of, and paragraph 68(3) of Schedule 9 to, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3) (“PCA 2017”).

[^f00002]: S.I. 2010/1813; amended by S.I. 2011/3061, 2014/834, 2017/1250.

[^f00003]: Paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of regulation 5 set out the modifications to sections 22, 23 and 24, respectively, of the Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30), that apply for the purposes of paragraph (1) of that regulation. Section 22(5)(c) was omitted by paragraph 47(e)(i) of Schedule 5 to PCA 2017. Section 23(2)(a) was amended by paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to PCA 2017. Section 23(2)(n) was amended by paragraph 9(5) of Schedule 12 to the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15) and paragraph 288 of Schedule 16 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c. 13) (“PRSRA 2011”). Section 23(2)(pa) was inserted by section 23(1) of PCA 2017. Section 24(b) was replaced with subsections (b), (ba) and (bb) by paragraph 289 of Schedule 16 to PRSRA 2011.

[^f00004]: 2016 c. 25.

[^f00005]: 2000 c. 23.

[^f00006]: 2005 c. 11; subsection (2A) was added by S.I. 2014/834.

[^f00007]: 1984 c. 60.

[^f00008]: 2016 c. 25.