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Section 47S: Codes of practice

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 · 2002 c. 29View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 2: Confiscation: England and Wales

The Secretary of State must make a code of practice in connection with—

the carrying out by appropriate officers of the functions conferred by sections 47C to 47H,
the carrying out by senior officers of their functions under section 47G, and
the detention of property under or by virtue of sections 41A, 44A and 47J to 47P.

Where the Secretary of State proposes to issue a code of practice the Secretary of State must—

publish a draft,
consider any representations made about the draft,
if the Secretary of State thinks appropriate, modify the draft in the light of any such representations.

The Secretary of State must also consult the Attorney General about the draft in its application to the exercise of powers by SFO officers and the Director of the Serious Fraud Office.

The Secretary of State must lay a draft of the code before Parliament.

When the Secretary of State has laid a draft of the code before Parliament the Secretary of State may bring it into operation by order.

The Secretary of State may revise the whole or any part of the code and issue the code as revised; and subsections (2) to (4) apply to such a revised code as they apply to the original code.

A failure by a person to comply with a provision of the code does not of itself make the person liable to criminal or civil proceedings.

The code is admissible in evidence in criminal or civil proceedings and is to be taken into account by a court or tribunal in any case in which it appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.