8.—(1) This article applies where the court is determining under section 156(4)(a) of the Act whether the defendant has a criminal lifestyle.
(2) The tests in section 223(2)(a) and (c) of the Act shall not be satisfied where the offence (or any of the offences) concerned was committed before 24th March 2003.
(3) In applying the rule in section 223(5) of the Act on the calculation of relevant benefit for the purposes of section 223(2)(b) and (4) of the Act, the court must not take into account benefit from conduct constituting an offence which was committed before 24th March 2003.
(4) Conduct shall not form part of a course of criminal activity under section 223(3)(a) of the Act where—
(a)the offence (or any of the offences) concerned; or
(b)any one of the three or more offences mentioned in section 223(3)(a),
was committed before 24th March 2003.
(5) Conduct shall form part of a course of criminal activity under section 223(3)(b) of the Act, notwithstanding that any of the offences of which the defendant was convicted on at least two separate occasions in the period mentioned in section 223(3)(b) was committed before 24th March 2003.