Finance Act 2022

89 Freezing injunctions: Northern Ireland U.K.

(1) Subsection (2) applies where —

(a) an application is made on behalf of HMRC to a court in Northern Ireland for a freezing injunction in relation to a relevant penalty (see section 90) before the penalty is determined, and

(b) the court considering the application is satisfied that HMRC have a good arguable case in relation to the penalty and—

(i) have commenced proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal in relation to it, or

(ii) intend to commence proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal in relation to it within the initial period.

(2) The court is to determine the application as if it were being made immediately after the First-tier Tribunal had determined the penalty on the basis sought, or to be sought, by HMRC.

(3) A freezing injunction granted by virtue of subsection (2) may not take effect unless HMRC commence proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal in relation to the penalty before the end of the initial period (whether before or after the making of the application for the injunction).

(4) In this section, a “freezing injunction” is an injunction granted in accordance with Order 29 of the Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980 (S.R. (N.I.) 1980 No. 346) or Order 14 of the County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981 (S.R. (N.I.) 1981 No. 225), which restrains a party from—

(a) removing from the jurisdiction assets located there, or

(b) dealing with any assets, whether located within the jurisdiction or not.