Summoning of witnesses
5.—(1) Where a party to any proceedings requires the attendance of a person at the hearing of those proceedings to give evidence or to produce any document in his possession, custody or power relevant to the subject matter of the proceedings, a Special Commissioner may, on the application of that party, issue a summons (in this regulation referred to as a “witness summons”) requiring the attendance of that person at the hearing, or the production of the document, wherever that person may be in the United Kingdom.
(2) A witness summons issued under paragraph (1) above shall state the name and address of, or otherwise describe, the person to be served and shall be signed by the Special Commissioner issuing it, and it shall be the responsibility of the party on whose application the summons was issued to serve it on that person.
(3) Service of a witness summons under this regulation shall be effected—
(a)in the case of an individual, by leaving a copy of the summons with him;
(b)in the case of a body corporate registered in the United Kingdom, by leaving a copy of the summons with the secretary or clerk of the body corporate;
(c)in the case of a foreign body corporate with a place of business in the United Kingdom, by leaving a copy of the summons with a person authorised to accept service of process on the body corporate.
(4) A person who in obedience to a witness summons attends the hearing of any proceedings and gives evidence—
(a)is a witness of the party on whose application the summons was issued, and
(b)may not be cross-examined by that party without the leave of the Tribunal hearing the proceedings.
(5) Leave shall not be given by a Tribunal under paragraph (4)(b) above unless the Tribunal decides that the witness may be treated as a hostile witness.
(6) No person shall be required to attend in obedience to a witness summons unless it has been served on him at least seven days before the hearing or, if it has been served on him within that period, he has informed the Clerk that he accepts such service.
(7) No person shall be required to attend and give evidence or to produce any document in obedience to a witness summons unless the party serving the summons either—
(a)pays or tenders to that person, at the time when the summons is served on him, a sum sufficient to cover his reasonable expenses of travelling to and from, and his attendance at, the hearing, or
(b)has agreed with that person, prior to service of the summons, to pay such a sum to him at a different time.
(8) No person shall be compelled in obedience to a witness summons to give any evidence or produce any document that he could not be compelled to give or produce in an action in a court of law in that part of the United Kingdom by reference to the law of which the proceedings are to be determined.
(9) No person who has been appointed as an auditor for the purposes of any enactment or who is a tax adviser within the meaning of section 20B(10) of the Management Act(1) shall be compelled in obedience to a witness summons to produce any document if, having regard to section 20B(9) to (13) of that Act, he would not be obliged to deliver or make available that document in response to a notice under section 20(3) or (8A)(1) of that Act.
(10)
Where, in the case of any document, a person could under section 20B(14) of that Act comply with such a notice by delivering a copy of parts of the document and making those parts available for inspection, he shall not be compelled in obedience to a witness summons to do more at the hearing than—
(a)produce a photographic or other facsimile copy of those parts of the document, and
(b)make those parts of the document available for inspection by the Tribunal.
(11) On the application, by notice served on the Clerk, of a person on whom a witness summons has been served, a Special Commissioner may set aside the summons in whole or in part; and the party on whose application the summons was issued shall be entitled to be heard on such an application.
(12) This regulation shall apply to proceedings in Scotland—
(a)with the omission of paragraphs (4) and (5) above;
(b)with the substitution for references to issuing a summons and to a witness summons of references to issuing a citation and to a witness citation.
Sections 20 to 20D were substituted for section 20 by Schedule 6 to the Finance Act 1976 (c. 40), and subsections (9) to (14) of section 20B were substituted for subsection (9) of that section by section 144(7) of the Finance Act 1989. Subsection (3) of the substituted section 20 was amended by section 142(4) of the Finance Act 1989 and subsection (8A) was inserted by section 126(3) of the Finance Act 1988.