Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

PART XLOSS RELIEF AND GROUP RELIEF

CHAPTER ILOSS RELIEF: INCOME TAX

Trade etc. losses

380Set-off against general income

(1)Where any person sustains a loss in any trade, profession, vocation or employment carried on by him either solely or in partnership, he may, by notice given within two years after the year of assessment, make a claim for relief from income tax on an amount of his income equal to the amount of the loss.

(2)Subject to section 492(2), relief may be given under subsection (1) above in respect of a person’s loss sustained in the last preceding year of assessment in any trade, profession, vocation or employment still carried on by him in the year for which the claim is made, in so far as relief in respect of that loss has not already been given under that subsection or otherwise; and where relief is claimed by virtue of this subsection it shall be given in priority to any relief under that subsection in respect of a loss sustained in the year for which the relief is claimed.

(3)Where there is in any year of assessment a change on which a trade, profession or vocation is treated under section 113(1) as permanently discontinued, and a person engaged in carrying it on immediately before the change continues to be so engaged immediately afterwards, it shall, notwithstanding the discontinuance, be treated as the same trade, profession or vocation for the purposes of subsection (2) above, except as respects the computation of profits or gains and losses.

(4)This section applies in relation to losses sustained in the occupation of woodlands in respect of which a person has elected under section 54 to be charged to income tax under Schedule D as it applies in relation to losses sustained in a trade.

381Further relief for individuals for losses in early years of trade

(1)Where an individual carrying on a trade sustains a loss in the trade in—

(a)the year of assessment in which it is first carried on by him; or

(b)any of the next three years of assessment;

he may, by notice given within two years after the year of assessment in which the loss is sustained, make a claim for relief under this section.

(2)Subject to section 492 and this section, relief shall be given under subsection (1) above from income tax on an amount of the claimant’s income equal to the amount of the loss, being income for the three years of assessment last preceding that in which the loss is sustained, taking income for an earlier year before income for a later year.

(3)Relief shall not be given for the same loss or the same portion of a loss both under subsection (1) above and under any other provision of the Income Tax Acts.

(4)Relief shall not be given under subsection (1) above in respect of a loss sustained in any period unless it is shown that the trade was carried on throughout that period on a commercial basis and in such a way that profits in the trade (or, where the carrying on of the trade forms part of a larger undertaking, in the undertaking as a whole) could reasonably be expected to be realised in that period or within a reasonable time thereafter.

(5)Relief shall not be given under subsection (1) above in respect of a loss sustained by an individual in a trade if—

(a)at the time when it is first carried on by him he is married to and living with another individual who has previously carried on the trade; and

(b)the loss is sustained in a year of assessment later than the third year of assessment after that in which the trade was first carried on by the other individual.

(6)For the purposes of this section an individual carries on a trade whether he does so solely or in partnership; and (except as respects the computation of profits or gains and losses) an individual continues to carry on the same trade notwithstanding a change in the persons engaged in carrying it on if he is engaged in carrying it on immediately before and immediately after the change.

(7)This section applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to a profession or vocation as it applies in relation to a trade.

382Provisions supplementary to sections 380 and 381

(1)A claim for relief under section 380 or 381 may require that the relief be given only by reference to the income of the person sustaining the loss, without extending to the income of that person’s wife or husband.

(2)Subject to any requirement under subsection (1) above, relief under section 380 or 381 shall be given in respect of a loss sustained by any person by treating the loss as reducing first his income of the corresponding class, then his other income, then the income of the corresponding class of that person’s wife or husband, then the other income of the wife or husband.

For the purposes of this subsection “income of the corresponding class” means earned or unearned income according as income arising during the same period as the loss to the person sustaining it from profits or gains of the same trade, profession, vocation or employment would have been that person’s earned or unearned income.

(3)Where relief under section 380 or 381 has been given to a person for any year of assessment, he shall not be entitled, in computing the amount of the assessment for any subsequent year, to a deduction of any portion of the amount in respect of which such relief has been obtained.

(4)For the purposes of sections 380 and 381, the amount of a loss sustained in a trade, (including the occupation of woodlands in a case where section 380(4) applies), profession or vocation shall be computed in like manner as the profits or gains arising or accruing from the trade, profession or vocation are computed under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts applicable to Case I or II of Schedule D.

383Extension of right of set-off to capital allowances

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, any claim made under section 380 or 381 for relief in respect of a loss sustained by the claimant in any trade in any year of assessment (“the year of loss”) may require the amount of that loss to be determined as if an amount equal to the capital allowances for the year of assessment for which the year of loss is the basis year were to be deducted in computing the profits or gains or losses of the trade in the year of loss; and a claim may be so made notwithstanding that apart from those allowances the claimant has not sustained a loss in the trade in the year of loss.

(2)Capital allowances for any year of assessment shall be taken into account by virtue of this section only if and so far as they are not required to offset balancing charges for the year; and, for the purposes of this subsection, the capital allowances for a year of assessment shall be treated as required to offset balancing charges for the year up to the amount on which the balancing charges fall to be made after deducting from that amount the amount (if any) of capital allowances for earlier years which is carried forward to that year and would, without the balancing charges, be non-effective in that year.

(3)In the case of a claim under section 380, where the capital allowances taken into account by virtue of this section are those for the year of assessment for which the claim is made or for the preceding year (the year of loss being the basis year for that year itself, or the claim being made by way of carry-forward of the loss by virtue of section 380(2)) relief shall not be given by reference to those allowances in respect of an amount greater than the amount non-effective in the year for which the claim is made, or, in the case of allowances for the preceding year, the amount non-effective in both years.

(4)In the case of a claim under section 381, where the capital allowances taken into account by virtue of this section are those for the year of loss, relief shall not be given by reference to those allowances in respect of an amount greater than the amount non-effective in that year.

(5)For the purposes of this section—

(a)where the end of the basis period for a year of assessment (as defined in section 72 of the 1968 Act) falls in, or coincides with the end of, any year of assessment, that year is the basis year for the first-mentioned year of assessment, but so that, if a year of assessment would under the foregoing provision be the basis year both for that year itself and for another year of assessment, it shall be the basis year for the year itself and not for the other year;

(b)any reference to the capital allowances or balancing charges for a year of assessment shall be construed as a reference to those falling to be made in taxing the trade for that year (but not including, in the case of allowances, any part of the allowances for an earlier year carried forward under section 70(4) of the 1968 Act);

(c)any reference to an amount of capital allowances non-effective in a year shall be construed as referring to the amount to which, by reason of an insufficiency of profits or gains, effect cannot be given in taxing the trade for the year; and

(d)effect shall be deemed to be given in taxing the trade to allowances carried forward from an earlier year before it is given to allowances arising in a later year.

(6)Where, on a claim made by virtue of this section, relief is not given under section 380 or 381 for the full amount of the loss determined as mentioned in subsection (1) above, the relief shall be referred as far as may be to the loss sustained by the claimant in the trade rather than to the capital allowances in respect of the trade.

(7)Subject to subsection (8) below, where for any year of assessment relief is given under section 380 or 381 by reference to any capital allowances, then, for all the purposes of the Income Tax Acts, effect shall be deemed to have been given to those allowances up to the amount in respect of which relief is so given, as if (in accordance with section 70(2) of the 1968 Act) a deduction in respect thereof had been allowed in taxing the trade for that year, or—

(a)where relief is given under section 380, in the case of allowances for the following year, in taxing the trade for that following year;

(b)where relief is given under section 381, in the case of allowances for any later year, in taxing the trade for that later year;

and any relief previously given for a subsequent year on the basis that effect had not been given to the allowances as aforesaid shall be adjusted where necessary by an assessment.

(8)Where in any year of assessment a trade is permanently discontinued, or is treated for the purposes of section 113 as permanently discontinued, and, immediately before the discontinuance, the trade was being carried on in partnership, then, notwithstanding subsection (7) above, for the purposes of any claim for relief made by virtue of section 385(5)(c) or 388 and relating to that discontinuance, effect shall not be deemed to have been given either—

(a)to any part of the capital allowances falling to be made in taxing the trade for that year by reason of relief given under section 380 or 381 by reference to those allowances; or

(b)to any part of the capital allowances falling to be made in taxing the trade for the preceding year by reason of relief so given by reference to them, in so far as that relief must be referred to the part of the allowances apportionable to the part of the year within 12 months of the discontinuance on an apportionment made by reference to the comparative lengths of the two parts of the year;

but where the same partner claims relief both under section 380 or 381 and under section 385(5) or 388 in respect of the same allowances, the total amount for which relief is to be given to him by reference thereto shall not exceed the greater of the amounts for which, apart from any deficiency of income, relief might have been given under either section separately, and the total amount for which relief is to be given to all the partners under those sections in respect of any allowances shall not in any event exceed the amount of the allowances to which effect has not been given apart from those sections.

(9)Where a person claiming relief under section 380 or 381 has, since the end, where the claim is under section 380, of the year for which the claim is made, or, where the claim is under section 381, of the year of loss, carried on the trade in question in partnership, effect shall not be given to this section in relation to that claim except with the written consent of, or of the personal representatives of, every other person who has been engaged in carrying on the trade between the end of that year and the making of the claim.

(10)Where the claim is for a loss sustained before an event treated as the permanent discontinuance of the trade, subsection (9) above shall not require the consent of any person as having been so engaged since that discontinuance, or as the personal representative of such a person.

(11)Relief from tax may be given by virtue of this section by reference to capital allowances for a year of assessment before the passing of any Act granting income tax for that year, as if income tax had been granted for the year without alteration; but if relief given to a person by virtue of this section for any year of assessment is affected by a subsequent alteration of the law, or by any discontinuance of the trade or other event occurring after the end of the year, any necessary adjustment may be made, and so much of any repayment of tax as exceeded the amount repayable in the events that happened may, if not otherwise made good, be assessed under Case VI of Schedule D and recovered from that person accordingly.

(12)This section applies (with any necessary adaptations)—

(a)in the case of a claim under section 380, in relation to a profession, vocation or employment and in relation to the occupation of woodlands the profits or gains of which are assessable under Schedule D by virtue of an election under section 54; and

(b)in relation to a claim under section 381, in relation to a profession or vocation,

as it applies in relation to a trade.

384Restrictions on right of set-off

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, a loss (including any amount in respect of capital allowances which, by virtue of section 383, is to be treated as a loss) shall not be available for relief under section 380 unless it is shown that, for the year of assessment in which the loss is claimed to have been sustained, the trade was being carried on on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profits in the trade or, where the carrying on of the trade formed part of a larger undertaking, in the undertaking as a whole.

(2)Subsection (1) above shall not apply—

(a)to a loss made, or an allowance in respect of expenditure incurred, by any person in the exercise of functions conferred by or under any enactment (including an enactment contained in a local or private Act); or

(b)to an allowance in respect of expenditure incurred before 6th April 1960.

(3)Where during a year of assessment there is a change in the manner in which a trade is being carried on, it shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having been carried on throughout the year in the way in which it was being carried on by the end of the year.

(4)Subject to subsection (5) below, where a trade is (or falls to be treated as being) carried on for a part only of a year of assessment by reason of its being (or falling to be treated as being) set up and commenced, or discontinued, or both, in that year, subsections (1) to (3) above shall have effect in relation to the trade as regards that part of that year as if any reference to the manner of carrying on the trade for or by the end of that year were a reference to the manner of carrying it on for or by the end of that part of that year.

(5)Where in any year of assessment there is a change in the persons engaged in carrying on a trade, then, for the purposes of the application of subsections (1) to (4) above in the case of any person who, being engaged in carrying on the trade immediately before the change, continues to be so engaged immediately after it, the trade carried on by that person immediately before the change shall be treated as continuing to be carried on by him notwithstanding the change, whether or not it falls to be treated for any other purpose as having been discontinued on the change.

(6)There shall be disregarded for the purposes of section 383 any allowances made to an individual under Chapter I of Part III of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971 in respect of expenditure incurred on the provision of machinery or plant for leasing in the course of a trade unless—

(a)the trade is carried on by him (alone or in partnership) for a continuous period of at least six months in, or beginning or ending in, the year of the loss (as defined in section 383); and

(b)he devotes substantially the whole of his time to carrying it on (alone or in partnership) throughout that year or if it is set up or permanently discontinued (or both) in that year, for a continuous period of at least six months beginning or ending in that year.

(7)Subsection (6) above shall apply also to expenditure incurred by an individual on the provision for the purposes of a trade carried on by him (alone or in partnership) of an asset which is not to be leased if payments in the nature of royalties or licence fees are to accrue from rights granted by him in connection with that asset.

(8)Where relief has been given in a case to which subsection (6) above applies it shall be withdrawn by the making of an assessment under Case VI of Schedule D.

(9)For the purposes of subsection (1) above, the fact that a trade was being carried on at any time so as to afford a reasonable expectation of profit shall be conclusive evidence that it was then being carried on with a view to the realisation of profits.

(10)Subsections (1) to (5) and (9) above—

(a)apply to professions and vocations as they apply to trades, with references to a commercial basis construed accordingly; and

(b)have effect without prejudice to section 397;

and subsection (6) above is without prejudice to section 41 of the [1976 c. 40.] Finance Act 1976.

385Carry-forward against subsequent profits

(1)Where a person has, in any trade, profession or vocation carried on by him either alone or in partnership, sustained a loss (to be computed in the same way as profits or gains under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts applicable to Cases I and II of Schedule D) in respect of which relief has not been wholly given either under section 380 or under any other provision of those Acts, he may make a claim requiring that any portion of the loss for which relief has not been so given shall be carried forward and, as far as may be, deducted from or set off against the amount of profits or gains on which he is assessed to income tax under Schedule D in respect of that trade, profession or vocation for subsequent years of assessment.

(2)In the application of this section to a loss sustained by a partner in a partnership, “the amount of profits or gains on which he is assessed” shall, in respect of any year, be taken to mean such portion of the amount on which the partnership is assessed to income tax under Schedule D in respect of the trade, profession or vocation as he would be required to include in a return of his total income for that year.

(3)Any relief under this section shall be given as far as possible from the first subsequent assessment, and so far as it cannot be so given, then from the next assessment, and so on.

(4)Where in any year of assessment relief cannot be given, or cannot be wholly given, in respect of a loss carried forward under this section because the amount of the profits or gains of the trade assessed under Case I of Schedule D for that year is insufficient, any interest or dividends being interest or dividends—

(a)on investments arising in that year, and

(b)which would fall to be taken into account as trading receipts in computing the profits or gains of the trade for the purposes of assessment under that Case but for the fact that they have been subjected to tax under other provisions of the Income Tax Acts,

shall be treated for the purposes of the application of this section as if they were profits or gains on which the person carrying on the trade was assessed under that Case in respect of that trade for that year of assessment, and relief shall be given accordingly by repayment or otherwise.

(5)Where there is in any year of assessment a change on which a trade, profession or vocation is treated under section 113 as permanently discontinued, and a person engaged in carrying it on immediately before the change continues to be so engaged immediately thereafter, then—

(a)the trade, profession or vocation carried on by him immediately before and that carried on immediately after the change shall, notwithstanding the discontinuance, be treated as the same for the purposes of this section, except as respects the computation of profits or gains and losses; and

(b)in respect of a loss sustained by him in the trade, profession or vocation in the part of that year before the change, relief shall be given under this section from the assessment relating to the part of the year after the change as if it were an assessment for a subsequent year; and

(c)for the purposes of this section, there shall be treated as a loss so sustained in the part of the year before the change his share of the non-effective amount (if any) of any capital allowances falling to be made in taxing the trade, profession or vocation for that part of that year.

For the purposes of paragraph (c) above—

(i)the persons engaged in carrying on the trade, profession or vocation immediately before the change shall be treated as entitled to capital allowances in the shares in which they are then entitled to the profits of the trade, profession or vocation, and

(ii)“the non-effective amount” means, in relation to any such allowances, the amount to which, because of an insufficiency of profits or gains, effect cannot be given in taxing the trade, profession or vocation.

(6)Where a loss is sustained by a person in the occupation of woodlands, and that person, if he had made a profit, would by reason of his election under section 54 have been chargeable for the following year to income tax under Schedule D computed on the amount of that profit, this section shall apply so as to give relief in respect of that loss in the same manner, and to the same extent, as if it were a loss sustained in a trade.

(7)In so far as relief in respect of any loss has been given to any person under this section, that person shall not be entitled to claim relief in respect of that loss under any other provision of the Income Tax Acts.

(8)So far as a claim under this section concerns the amount of the loss for any year of assessment it must be made within six years after the year of assessment in question, but the question whether any and if so how much relief on that amount should be given under this section against tax for any year of assessment may be the subject of a separate claim made not later than six years after that year of assessment.

386Carry-forward where business transferred to a company

(1)Where—

(a)a business carried on by any individual, or any individuals in partnership, has been transferred to a company in consideration solely or mainly of the allotment of shares in the company to that individual or those individuals; and

(b)in the case of any individual to whom, or to whose nominee or nominees, shares have been so allotted, his total income for any year of assessment throughout which he is the beneficial owner of the shares, and throughout which the company carries on the business, includes any income derived by him from the company, whether by way of dividends on those shares or otherwise;

then, subject to subsection (2) below, section 385 (except subsection (5)) shall apply as if the income so derived were profits or gains on which that individual was assessed under Schedule D in respect of that business for that year.

(2)Where under section 385 as applied by subsection (1) above a loss falls to be deducted from or set off against any income for any year of assessment, the deduction or set-off shall be made in the first place against that part, if any, of the income in respect of which the individual has been, or is liable to be, assessed to tax for that year.

(3)This section, in its application to the year of assessment in which a business is transferred, shall have effect as if, for the reference in subsection (1)(b) to the year of assessment throughout which the individual is the beneficial owner of the shares and the business is carried on by the company, there were substituted a reference to the period from the date of the transfer to the following 5th April.

(4)Where a change to which subsection (5) of section 385 applies has occurred before a transfer to which this section applies, paragraph (a), but not paragraph (c), of that subsection shall for the purposes of this section apply in relation to the earlier change as it applies for the purposes of that section.

387Carry-forward as losses of amounts taxed under section 350

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, where under section 350 a person has been assessed to income tax in respect of a payment made wholly and exclusively for the purposes of a trade, profession or vocation, the amount on which tax has been paid under that assessment shall be treated for the purposes of sections 385 and 386 as though it were a loss sustained in that trade, profession or vocation, and relief in respect of the loss shall be allowed accordingly.

(2)Relief shall not be allowed by virtue of this section in respect of any payment, or part of a payment, which is not ultimately borne by the person assessed, or which is charged to capital.

(3)This section shall not apply—

(a)to any payment falling within section 349(2);

(b)to any payment falling within section 349 by virtue of section 43(1);

(c)to any such payment of rent as is referred to in section 120(4);

(d)to any capital sum paid in respect of any patent rights assessed under section 349(1) by virtue of section 524;

(e)to any payment of, or on account of, copyright royalties to which section 536 applies; or

(f)to any payment to which section 349(1) applies by virtue of section 737.

388Carry-back of terminal losses

(1)Where a trade, profession or vocation is permanently discontinued in the year 1988-89 or any later year, and any person then carrying it on, either alone or in partnership, has sustained therein a loss to which this section applies (“a terminal loss”), that person may, subject to the provisions of this section and of section 389, make a claim requiring that the amount of the terminal loss shall, as far as may be, be deducted from or set off against the amount of profits or gains on which he has been charged to income tax under Schedule D in respect of the trade, profession or vocation for the three years of assessment last preceding that in which the discontinuance occurs; and there shall be made all such reductions of assessments or repayments of tax as may be necessary to give effect to the claim.

(2)Relief shall not be given in respect of the same matter both under this section and under some other provision of the Income Tax Acts.

(3)Any relief under this section shall be given as far as possible from the assessment for a later rather than an earlier year.

(4)Where—

(a)a claim under this section is made in respect of a terminal loss sustained in a trade, and

(b)relief cannot be given, or cannot be wholly given, against the profits or gains of the trade charged to income tax under Schedule D for any year because the amount of those profits or gains is insufficient,

any relevant interest or dividends arising in that year shall be treated for the purposes of the application of this section as if they were profits or gains on which the person carrying on the trade was assessed under Case I of Schedule D in respect of that trade for that year of assessment, and relief shall be given accordingly by repayment or otherwise.

For the purposes of this subsection “any relevant interest or dividends” means interest or dividends which would fall to be taken into account as trading receipts in computing the profits or gains of the trade for the purpose of assessment under Case I of Schedule D but for the fact that they have been subjected to tax under other provisions of the Income Tax Acts.

(5)The profits or gains on which a person or partnership has been charged to income tax for any year of assessment shall be treated for the purposes of any relief under this section from the assessment for that year as reduced by the amount of those profits or gains applied in making any payment from which income tax was deducted, but was not accounted for because the payment was made out of profits or gains brought into charge to income tax; and the like reduction shall be made in the amount of the terminal loss for which relief may be given under this section from the assessments for earlier years unless the payment was one which, if not made out of profits or gains brought into charge to income tax—

(a)could have been assessed to income tax under section 350, and

(b)if so assessed, could have been treated as a loss by virtue of section 387.

(6)The question whether a person has sustained any and, if so, what terminal loss in a trade, profession or vocation shall be determined for the purposes of this section by taking the amounts (if any) of the following, in so far as they have not otherwise been taken into account so as to reduce or relieve any charge to tax—

(a)the loss sustained by him in the trade, profession or vocation in the year of assessment in which it is permanently discontinued;

(b)the relevant capital allowances for that year of assessment;

(c)the loss sustained by him in the trade, profession or vocation in the part of the preceding year of assessment beginning 12 months before the discontinuance; and

(d)the same fraction of the relevant capital allowances for that preceding year of assessment as the part thereof beginning 12 months before the discontinuance is of a year.

(7)In subsection (6) above “the relevant capital allowances” means, in relation to any year of assessment, any capital allowances falling to be made in taxing the trade, profession or vocation for that year, excluding amounts carried forward from an earlier year; and for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (c) of that subsection the amount of a loss shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be computed in the same way as profits or gains under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts applicable to Cases I and II of Schedule D.

389Supplementary provisions relating to carry-back of terminal losses

(1)Sections 387, 458 and 474 shall apply to the computation of losses, or of profit or loss, for any purpose of this section or section 388 as they apply to any such computation for the corresponding purposes of section 385.

(2)Where on the permanent discontinuance of a trade which consists of or includes the working of a mine, oil well or other source of mineral deposits within the meaning of Schedule 13 to the [1986 c. 41.] Finance Act 1986, a claim for relief is made both under section 388 above and section 15(1) of the 1968 Act (carry-back of balancing allowances), the balancing allowance in respect of which the claim is made under section 15(1) shall be left out of account for the purposes of section 388(6), but relief under section 388 shall be given in priority to relief under section 15(1).

(3)Where a person claiming relief under section 388 on a discontinuance has, since the beginning of the third year of assessment preceding that in which the discontinuance occurs, carried on the trade, profession or vocation in partnership—

(a)in section 388(1) “the amount of profits or gains on which he has been charged to income tax” shall be taken to mean, in respect of any year or part of a year for which the partnership was assessed in respect of the trade, profession or vocation, such portion of the amount of the profits or gains on which the partnership has been, or is treated by virtue of section 388(5) as having been, charged to income tax in respect of it for that year or part of a year as would be required to be included in a return of his total income for that year;

(b)any reduction in the amount of his terminal loss which falls to be made under section 388(5) by reason of profits or gains having been applied by the partnership in any such year or part of a year in making any payment shall be limited to the same proportion of the profits or gains brought into charge which were so applied; and

(c)if he was carrying on the trade, profession or vocation immediately before the discontinuance, the amounts to be included in his terminal loss by virtue of section 388(6)(b) or (d) shall be such part only of the amounts therein mentioned (in so far as they have not otherwise been taken into account so as to reduce or relieve any charge to tax) as would fall to his share on a division made according to the shares in which the partners were then entitled to the profits of the trade, profession or vocation.

(4)For all purposes of this section and section 388 a trade, profession or vocation shall be treated as discontinued, and a new one as set up and commenced, when it is so treated for the purposes of section 113; but—

(a)a person who continues to be engaged in carrying it on immediately after such a discontinuance shall not be entitled to relief in respect of any terminal loss on that discontinuance; and

(b)on any discontinuance, a person not continuing to be so engaged may be given relief in respect of a terminal loss against profits or gains on which he was charged in respect of the same trade, profession or vocation for a period before a previous discontinuance, if he has been continuously engaged in carrying it on between the two discontinuances, and, in his case, if the previous discontinuance occurred within 12 months before the other—

(i)it shall be disregarded for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (c) of section 388(6), except that those paragraphs shall be taken to include any amount on which relief could have been allowed to him as for a loss sustained before the previous discontinuance by virtue of section 385(5)(c), so far as it is referable to a period within those 12 months; and

(ii)paragraph (d) of section 388(6) shall be taken to include the whole amount of the allowances in question instead of the fraction there mentioned.

(5)Where a trade, profession or vocation is being carried on by any persons in partnership immediately before it is permanently discontinued, relief under section 388 given to one of them on the discontinuance shall not, in relation to a claim made by another of them by virtue of paragraph (c) of section 385(5), be taken to affect the non-effective amount of any allowances within the meaning of that paragraph.

(6)Subject to subsection (7) below, a claim for relief under section 388 may require that, in so far as they have not been otherwise taken into account so as to reduce or relieve any charge to tax, capital allowances in respect of the trade under Part I of the 1968 Act or Chapter I of Part III of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971, being allowances which—

(a)fall to be made to the claimant by way of discharge or repayment of tax, and

(b)fall to be so made for the year of assessment in which the discontinuance occurs or the preceding year of assessment,

shall be added to the terminal loss sustained by him (or, if he has not sustained a terminal loss computed in accordance with the provisions of this section and section 388, shall be treated as a terminal loss so sustained), and the allowances to be taken into account for this purpose may include allowances arising before a previous discontinuance.

(7)For the purposes of subsection (6) above—

(a)there shall be taken into account such fraction only of the allowances for the preceding year of assessment referred to in that subsection as the part of that year beginning 12 months before the discontinuance giving rise to the claim is of a year; and

(b)the allowances for any year shall not be treated as including any amounts carried forward from an earlier year.

(8)Where a person occupying woodlands has elected to be charged to income tax in respect thereof under Schedule D, this section and section 388 shall apply to a terminal loss sustained by him in the occupation of the woodlands as they apply to a terminal loss sustained in a trade.

390Treatment of interest as a loss for purposes of carry-forward and carry-back

Where—

(a)a payment of interest eligible for relief under section 353 is money wholly and exclusively laid out or expended for the purposes of a trade, profession or vocation the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D, and

(b)full effect cannot be given to such relief in respect of the payment by reason of a want or deficiency of income of the year of assessment in which the payment is made,

the amount unallowed may be carried forward to succeeding years of assessment as if it were a loss carried forward under section 385, or may be treated for the purposes of sections 388 and 389 as a loss sustained at the date of payment.

391Losses from trade etc. carried on abroad

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, sections 380 to 386 and 388 and 389, so far as applicable, shall apply in relation to a loss incurred by any person in the carrying on of a trade, profession or vocation chargeable in accordance with section 65(3) as they apply to a loss incurred in a trade, profession or vocation chargeable to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D.

(2)Relief shall not be given by virtue of subsection (1) above except on income falling within section 65(2) or (3), 192(2), (3) or (4) or 196.

Case VI losses

392Case VI losses

(1)Where in any year of assessment a person sustains a loss in any transaction, whether he was engaged therein solely or in partnership, being a transaction of such a nature that, if any profits had arisen therefrom, he would have been liable to be assessed to income tax in respect thereof under Case VI of Schedule D, he may make a claim requiring—

(a)that the amount of the loss sustained by him shall, as far as may be, be deducted from or set off against the amount of any profits or gains arising from any transaction in respect of which he is assessed for that year under that Case, and

(b)that any portion of the loss for which relief is not so given shall, as far as may be, be carried forward and deducted from or set off against the amount of any profits or gains arising from any transaction in respect of which he is assessed to income tax under that Case for any subsequent year of assessment.

(2)In the application of this section to a loss sustained by a partner in a partnership, “the amount of any profits or gains arising from any transaction in respect of which he is assessed” shall be taken to mean in respect of any year such portion of the amount on which the partnership is assessed under Case VI of Schedule D in respect of any transaction as falls to be taken into account in computing his total income for that year.

(3)Any relief under this section by way of the carrying forward of the loss shall be given as far as possible from the first subsequent assessment in respect of any profits or gains arising from any transaction in respect of which he is assessed under Case VI of Schedule D for any year, and, so far as it cannot be so given, then from the next such assessment, and so on.

(4)This section does not apply to any loss sustained in a transaction falling within section 34, 35 or 36.

(5)So far as a claim under this section concerns the amount of the loss for any year of assessment, it must be made within six years after the year of assessment in question; but the question whether any and if so how much relief on that amount should be given under this section against tax for any year of assessment may be the subject of a separate claim made not later than six years after that year of assessment.

CHAPTER IILOSS RELIEF: CORPORATION TAX

Trade etc. losses

393Losses other than terminal losses

(1)Where in any accounting period a company carrying on a trade incurs a loss in the trade, the company may make a claim requiring that the loss be set off for the purposes of corporation tax against any trading income from the trade in succeeding accounting periods; and (so long as the company continues to carry on the trade) its trading income from the trade in any succeeding accounting period shall then be treated as reduced by the amount of the loss, or by so much of that amount as cannot, on that claim or on a claim (if made) under subsection (2) below, be relieved against income or profits of an earlier accounting period.

(2)Subject to section 492(2), where in any accounting period ending after 5th April 1988 a company carrying on a trade incurs a loss in the trade, then (subject to subsection (5) below) the company may make a claim requiring that the loss be set off for the purposes of corporation tax against profits (of whatever description) of that accounting period and, if the company was then carrying on the trade and the claim so requires, of preceding accounting periods ending within the time specified in subsection (3) below; and, subject to that subsection and to any relief for an earlier loss, the profits of any of those periods shall then be treated as reduced by the amount of the loss, or by so much of that amount as cannot be relieved under this subsection against profits of a later accounting period.

(3)The time referred to in subsection (2) above is a time equal in length to the accounting period in which the loss is incurred; but the amount of the reduction which may be made under that subsection in the profits of an accounting period falling partly before that time shall not exceed a part of those profits proportionate to the part of the period falling within that time.

(4)Where a company incurs a loss in a trade in an accounting period for which one or more first-year allowances fall to be made to it under Chapter I of Part III of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971 in respect of expenditure on the provision for the purposes of the trade of machinery or plant, subsections (2) and (3) above shall have effect in relation to so much of the loss as does not exceed the allowance or allowances which are so made as if the time specified in subsection (3) above were a period of three years ending immediately before the accounting period in which the loss is incurred.

(5)Subsection (2) above shall not apply to trades falling within Case V of Schedule D; and, except in so far as it represents an excess in respect of expenditure incurred before the year 1960-61 of capital allowances over balancing charges, a loss incurred in a trade in any accounting period shall not be relieved under that subsection unless the trade is one carried on in the exercise of functions conferred by or under any enactment (including an enactment contained in a local or private Act), or it is shown that for that accounting period the trade was being carried on on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of gain in the trade or in any larger undertaking of which the trade formed part.

This subsection has effect without prejudice to section 397.

(6)For the purposes of subsection (5) above, the fact that a trade was being carried on at any time so as to afford a reasonable expectation of gain shall be conclusive evidence that it was then being carried on with a view to the realisation of gain; and where in an accounting period there is a change in the manner in which a trade is being carried on, it shall for those purposes be treated as having throughout the accounting period been carried on in the way in which it was being carried on by the end of that period.

(7)The amount of a loss incurred in a trade in an accounting period shall be computed for the purposes of this section in the same way as trading income from the trade in that period would have been computed.

(8)For the purposes of this section “trading income” means, in relation to any trade, the income which falls or would fall to be included in respect of the trade in the total profits of the company; but where—

(a)in an accounting period a company incurs a loss in a trade in respect of which it is within the charge to corporation tax under Case I or V of Schedule D, and

(b)in any later accounting period to which the loss or any part of it is carried forward under subsection (1) above relief in respect thereof cannot be given, or cannot wholly be given, because the amount of the trading income of the trade is insufficient,

any interest or dividends on investments which would fall to be taken into account as trading receipts in computing that trading income but for the fact that they have been subjected to tax under other provisions shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) above as if they were trading income of the trade.

(9)Where in an accounting period the charges on income paid by a company—

(a)exceed the amount of the profits against which they are deductible, and

(b)include payments made wholly and exclusively for the purposes of a trade carried on by the company,

then, up to the amount of that excess or of those payments, whichever is the less, the charges on income so paid shall in computing a loss for the purposes of subsection (1) above be deductible as if they were trading expenses of the trade.

(10)In this section references to a company carrying on a trade refer to the company carrying it on so as to be within the charge to corporation tax in respect of it.

(11)A claim under subsection (1) above must be made within six years after the end of the accounting period in which the loss is incurred, and must be so made notwithstanding that relief cannot be given in respect of the loss until after the end of that period of six years; and a claim under subsection (2) above must be made within two years from the end of the accounting period in which the loss is incurred.

394Terminal losses

(1)Where a company ceasing to carry on a trade after 5th April 1988 has in any accounting period falling wholly or partly within the previous 12 months incurred a loss in the trade, the company may make a claim requiring that the loss be set off for the purposes of corporation tax against trading income from the trade in accounting periods falling wholly or partly within the three years preceding those 12 months (or within any less period throughout which the company has carried on the trade); and, subject to subsections (2) to (6) below and to any relief for earlier losses, the trading income of any of those periods shall be then treated as reduced by the amount of the loss, or by so much of that amount as cannot be relieved under this subsection against income of a later accounting period.

(2)Relief under subsection (1) above shall not be given in respect of any loss in so far as the loss has been or can be otherwise taken into account so as to reduce or relieve any charge to tax.

(3)Where a loss is incurred in an accounting period falling partly outside the 12 months mentioned in subsection (1) above, relief shall be given under that subsection in respect of a part only of that loss proportionate to the part of the period falling within those 12 months; and the amount of the reduction which may be made under that subsection in the trading income of an accounting period falling partly outside the three years there mentioned shall not exceed a part of that income proportionate to the part of the period falling within those three years.

(4)A claim for relief under this section may require that capital allowances in respect of the trade, being allowances which fall to be made to the company by way of discharge or repayment of tax, and to be so made for an accounting period falling wholly or partly within the 12 months ending when the company ceases to carry on the trade, shall (so far as they cannot be otherwise taken into account so as to reduce or relieve any charge to corporation tax) be added to the loss incurred by the company in that accounting period or, if the company has not incurred a loss in the period, shall be treated as a loss so incurred.

For the purposes of this subsection the allowances for any period shall not be treated as including amounts carried forward from an earlier period.

(5)Subsections (7) to (10) of section 393 shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of subsection (1) of that section; and relief shall not be given under this section in respect of a loss incurred in a trade so as to interfere with any relief under section 338 in respect of payments made wholly and exclusively for the purposes of that trade.

(6)A claim under this section must be made within six years from the time when the company ceases to carry on the trade.

395Leasing contracts and company reconstructions

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, if—

(a)under a contract entered into on or after 6th March 1973 a company (“the first company”) incurs capital expenditure on the provision of machinery or plant which the first company lets to another person by another contract (a (“leasing contract”); and

(b)apart from this subsection, the first company would be entitled to claim relief under subsection (1) or (2) of section 393 in respect of losses incurred on the leasing contract; and

(c)in the accounting period for which a first-year allowance, within the meaning of Chapter I of Part III of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971, in respect of the expenditure referred to in paragraph (a) above is made to the first company, arrangements are in existence by virtue of which, at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period, a successor company will be able to carry on any part of the first company’s trade which consists of or includes the performance of all or any of the obligations which, apart from the arrangements, would be the first company’s obligations under the leasing contract,

then, in the accounting period specified in paragraph (c) above and in any subsequent accounting period, the first company shall not be entitled to claim relief as mentioned in paragraph (b) above except in computing its profits (if any) arising under the leasing contract.

(2)For the purposes of this section a company is a successor of the first company if the circumstances are such that—

(a)section 343 applies in relation to the first company and the other company as the predecessor and the successor within the meaning of that section; or

(b)the two companies are connected with each other within the terms of section 839.

(3)For the purposes of this section losses incurred on a leasing contract and profits arising under such a contract shall be computed as if the performance of the leasing contract were a trade begun to be carried on by the first company, separately from any other trade which it may carry on, at the commencement of the letting under the leasing contract.

(4)In determining whether the first company would be entitled to claim relief as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above, any losses incurred on the leasing contract shall be treated as incurred in a trade carried on by that company separately from any other trade which it may carry on.

(5)In this section “arrangements” means arrangements of any kind whether in writing or not.

Case VI losses

396Case VI losses

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, where in any accounting period a company incurs a loss in a transaction in respect of which the company is within the charge to corporation tax under Case VI of Schedule D, the company may make a claim requiring that the loss be set off against the amount of any income arising from transactions in respect of which the company is assessed to corporation tax under that Case for the same or any subsequent accounting period; and the company’s income in any accounting period from such transactions shall then be treated as reduced by the amount of the loss, or by so much of that amount as cannot be relieved under this section against income of an earlier accounting period.

(2)This section shall not apply to a loss incurred in a transaction falling within section 34, 35 or 36.

(3)A claim under this section must be made within six years after the end of the accounting period in which the loss is incurred and must be so made notwithstanding that relief cannot be given in respect of the loss until after the end of that period of six years.

CHAPTER IIILOSS RELIEF: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

397Restriction of relief in case of farming and market gardening

(1)Any loss incurred in a trade of farming or market gardening shall be excluded from section 380 if in each of the prior five years a loss was incurred in carrying on that trade; and where a loss is so excluded any related capital allowance shall also be excluded from that section.

(2)Any loss incurred in any accounting period by a company in carrying on a trade of farming or market gardening shall be excluded from section 393(2) if a loss, computed without regard to capital allowances, was incurred in carrying on that trade in that accounting period, and in each of the chargeable periods wholly or partly comprised in the prior five years.

(3)Subsections (1) and (2) above shall not restrict relief for any loss or for any capital allowance, if it is shown by the claimant—

(a)that the whole of the farming or market gardening activities in the year next following the prior five years are of such a nature, and carried on in such a way, as would have justified a reasonable expectation of the realisation of profits in the future if they had been undertaken by a competent farmer or market gardener, but

(b)that, if that farmer or market gardener had undertaken those activities at the beginning of the prior period of loss, he could not reasonably have expected the activities to become profitable until after the end of the year next following the prior period of loss.

(4)Subsections (1) and (2) above shall not restrict relief where the carrying on of the trade forms part of, and is ancillary to, a larger trading undertaking.

(5)In this section—

• “basis year”, in relation to any capital allowance, shall be construed in accordance with section 383(5)(a);

• “chargeable period”, in relation to a company, means any accounting period, or any basis period ending before its first accounting period, “basis period” having the meaning given by section 72 of the 1968 Act;

• “prior five years”—

  (a)

  in relation to a loss incurred in a year of assessment, means the last five years of assessment before that year, and

  (b)

  in relation to a loss incurred in a company’s accounting period, means the last five years before the beginning of the accounting period;

• “prior period of loss” means the prior five years, except that, if losses were incurred in the trade in successive years of assessment or chargeable periods amounting in all to a period longer than five years (and ending when the prior five years end), it means that longer period, and in applying this definition to a chargeable period of a company “losses” means losses computed without regard to capital allowances; and

• “farming” and “market gardening” shall be construed in accordance with the definitions of those terms in section 832, but as if those definitions were not restricted to activities in the United Kingdom.

(6)For the purposes of this section, a capital allowance is related to a loss incurred in a trade if it falls to be made in taxing that trade and its basis year is the year of assessment in which the loss was incurred.

(7)In ascertaining for the purposes of this section whether a loss was incurred in any part of the prior five years or earlier, the rules applicable to Case I of Schedule D shall be applied; and in this section “loss computed without regard to capital allowances” means, in relation to a chargeable period of a company, a loss so ascertained, but so that, notwithstanding section 73(2) of the 1968 Act, no account shall be taken of any allowance or charge under any of the Capital Allowances Acts.

(8)Subsections (1) and (2) above shall not restrict relief for any loss or capital allowance if the trade was set up and commenced within the prior five years, and, for the purposes of this subsection, a trade shall be treated as discontinued, and a new trade set up, in any event which under any of the provisions of the Tax Acts is to be treated as equivalent to the permanent discontinuance or setting up of a trade.

(9)For the purposes of subsection (8) above a trade shall not be treated as discontinued if, under section 343(2), it is not to be treated as discontinued for the purpose of capital allowances and charges.

(10)Where at any time there has been a change in the persons engaged in carrying on a trade, this section shall, notwithstanding subsection (8) above, apply to any person who was engaged in carrying on the trade immediately before and immediately after the change as if the trade were the same before and after without any discontinuance, and as if—

(a)a husband and his wife were the same person, and

(b)a husband or his wife were the same person as any company of which either the husband or the wife has control, or of which the two of them have control;

and accordingly relief from income tax or from corporation tax may be restricted under this section by reference to losses some of which are incurred in years of assessment and some, computed without regard to capital allowances, are incurred in a company’s chargeable periods.

In this subsection “control” has the same meaning as in Part XI.

398Transactions in deposits with and without certificates or in debts

Where a person sustains a loss on the exercise or disposal of a right to receive any amount, being a right to which section 56(2) applies, in a case where—

(a)if a profit had arisen from that exercise or disposal, that profit would have been chargeable to tax by virtue of section 56(2), and

(b)he is chargeable to tax under Schedule C or D in respect of interest payable on that amount,

then the amount of that interest shall be included in the amounts against which he may claim to set off the amount of his loss under section 392 or, as the case may be, 396.

399Dealings in commodity futures etc: withdrawal of loss relief

(1)If, apart from section 72(1) of the [1985 c. 54.] Finance Act 1985 or section 128 above, gains arising to any person in the course of dealing in commodity or financial futures or in qualifying options would constitute, for the purposes of the Tax Acts, profits or gains chargeable to tax under Schedule D otherwise than as the profits of a trade, then any loss arising in the course of that dealing shall not be allowable against profits or gains which are chargeable to tax under Schedule D.

(2)Relief shall not be given to any person under section 380, 381 or 393(2) in respect of a loss sustained in a trade of dealing in commodity futures if—

(a)the loss was sustained in a trade carried on in partnership and that person or one or more of the other partners was a company; and

(b)a scheme has been effected or arrangements have been made (whether by the partnership agreement or otherwise) such that the sole or main benefit that might be expected to accrue to that person from his interest in the partnership was the obtaining of a reduction in tax liability by means of any such relief.

(3)Where relief has been given in a case to which subsection (2) above applies it shall be withdrawn by the making of an assessment under Case VI of Schedule D.

(4)Subsection (2) above does not apply where the scheme was effected or the arrangements were made wholly before 6th April 1976.

(5)In this section “commodity futures”, “financial futures” and “qualifying options” have the same meanings as in section 72 of the [1985 c. 54.] Finance Act 1985, and the reference in subsection (1) to a loss arising in the course of dealing in commodity or financial futures includes any loss which is regarded as arising in the course of such dealing by virtue of subsection (2A) of that section.

400Write-off of government investment

(1)Where any amount of government investment in a body corporate is written-off on or after 6th April 1988, an amount equal to the amount written-off shall be set off against the body’s tax losses as at the end of the accounting period ending last before the write-off date and, to the extent to which that amount exceeds those losses, against the body’s tax losses as at the end of the next accounting period and so on.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1) above a body’s tax losses as at the end of an accounting period are—

(a)any losses which under section 393(1) are or, if a claim had been made under that subsection, would be available for relief against its trading income for the next accounting period;

(b)in the case of an investment company, any expenses of management or charges on income which under section 75(3) are available for carry forward to the next accounting period;

(c)any allowances which under section 74(2) of the 1968 Act are available for carry forward to the next accounting period;

(d)any amount paid by way of charges on income so far as it exceeds the company’s profit for the period and is not taken into account under 75(3) or 393(9); and

(e)any allowable losses available under 345 so far as not allowed in that or a previous accounting period.

(3)The set off to be made under subsection (1) above for any accounting period shall be made first against the amounts in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (2) above and, so far as it cannot be so made, against the amount in paragraph (e) of that subsection.

(4)For the purposes of subsection (1) above there shall be excluded from a body’s tax losses as at the end of the accounting period ending last before the write-off date any amounts in respect of which a claim has been made before the write-off date under section 393(2) or 402 of this Act or section 74(3) of the 1968 Act but the body’s tax losses as at the end of any subsequent accounting period shall be determined as if no such claim had been made on or after that date.

(5)Any amount that could be set off under subsection (1) above against a body’s tax losses as at the end of an accounting period (or could be so set off if that body then had any such losses) may be set off against the tax losses of any other body corporate which at the end of that period is a member of the same group as the first-mentioned body, or partly against the tax losses of one member of that group and partly against those of the other or any of the others, as may be just and reasonable.

(6)Expenditure shall not be treated for the purposes of section 84 of the 1968 Act or section 42 of the 1979 Act as met by the Crown by reason only of the writing-off of any government investment in the body in question and a sum shall not by reason only of any such writing-off be treated as not having been deductible in computing the profits or gains of that body for the purposes of Case I or II of Schedule D.

(7)For the purposes of this section an amount of government investment in a body corporate is written-off—

(a)if its liability to repay any money lent to it out of public funds by a Minister of the Crown is extinguished;

(b)if any of its shares for which a Minister of the Crown has subscribed out of public funds are cancelled; or

(c)if its commencing capital debt is reduced otherwise than by being paid off or its public dividend capital is reduced otherwise than by being repaid (including, in either case, a reduction to nil);

and the amount written-off and the write-off date are the amount in respect of which the liability is extinguished and the date on which it is extinguished, the amount subscribed for the shares that are cancelled and the date of cancellation or the amount of reduction in the commencing capital debt or public dividend capital and the date of the reduction, as the case may be.

(8)In subsection (7) above “commencing capital debt” means any debt to a Minister of the Crown assumed as such under an enactment and “public dividend capital” means any amount paid by a Minister of the Crown under an enactment in which that amount is so described or under an enactment corresponding to an enactment in which a payment made on similar terms to another body is so described.

(9)This section shall not have effect in relation to any amount written-off if and to the extent to which it is replaced by money lent, or a payment made, out of public funds or by shares subscribed for, whether for money or money’s worth, by a Minister of the Crown.

(10)In this section—

• “body corporate” means any body corporate which is a company for the purposes of corporation tax;

• “group” means a company having one or more 51 per cent. subsidiaries and that or those subsidiaries; and

• “Minister of the Crown” includes a Northern Ireland department.

401Relief for pre-trading expenditure

(1)Where a person incurs expenditure for the purposes of a trade, profession or vocation before the time when he begins to carry it on and the expenditure—

(a)is incurred not more than three years before that time; and

(b)is not allowable as a deduction in computing his profits or gains from the trade, profession or vocation for the purposes of Case I or II of Schedule D but would have been so allowable if incurred after that time,

the expenditure shall be treated for the purposes of corporation tax as incurred on the day on which the trade, profession or vocation is first carried on by him and for the purposes of relief under Chapter I of this Part as if it were the amount of a loss sustained by him in the trade, profession or vocation in the year of assessment in which it is set up and commenced.

(2)A claim for relief under the Income Tax Acts in respect of an amount treated as a loss by virtue of subsection (1) above shall be made separately from any claim for relief under those Acts in respect of any other loss.

CHAPTER IVGROUP RELIEF

402Surrender of relief between members of groups and consortia

(1)Subject to and in accordance with this Chapter and section 492(8), relief for trading losses and other amounts eligible for relief from corporation tax may, in the cases set out in subsections (2) and (3) below, be surrendered by a company (“the surrendering company”) and, on the making of a claim by another company (“the claimant company”) may be allowed to the claimant company by way of a relief from corporation tax called “group relief”.

(2)Group relief shall be available in a case where the surrendering company and the claimant company are both members of the same group.

A claim made by virtue of this subsection is referred to as a “group claim”.

(3)Group relief shall also be available in the case of a surrendering company and a claimant company either where one of them is a member of a consortium and the other is—

(a)a trading company which is owned by the consortium and which is not a 75 per cent. subsidiary of any company; or

(b)a trading company—

(i)which is a 90 per cent. subsidiary of a holding company which is owned by the consortium; and

(ii)which is not a 75 per cent. subsidiary of a company other than the holding company; or

(c)a holding company which is owned by the consortium and which is not a 75 per cent. subsidiary of any company;

or, in accordance with section 406, where one of them is a member of a group of companies and the other is owned by a consortium and another company is a member of both the group and the consortium.

A claim made by virtue of this subsection is referred to as “a consortium claim”.

(4)A consortium claim shall not be made if the share in the consortium of the member in the relevant accounting period of the surrendering company (or, where that company is a trading company falling within subsection (3)(b) above, its holding company) is nil or if a profit on a sale of the share capital of the other company or its holding company which the member owns would be treated as a trading receipt of that member.

(5)Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, two or more claimant companies may make claims relating to the same surrendering company, and to the same accounting period of that surrendering company.

(6)A payment for group relief—

(a)shall not be taken into account in computing profits or losses of either company for corporation tax purposes, and

(b)shall not for any of the purposes of the Corporation Tax Acts be regarded as a distribution or a charge on income;

and in this subsection “a payment for group relief” means a payment made by the claimant company to the surrendering company in pursuance of an agreement between them as respects an amount surrendered by way of group relief, being a payment not exceeding that amount.

403Losses etc. which may be surrendered by way of group relief

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, if in any accounting period the surrendering company has incurred a loss, computed as for the purposes of section 393(2), in carrying on a trade, the amount of the loss may be set off for the purposes of corporation tax against the total profits of the claimant company for its corresponding accounting period.

(2)Subsection (1) above shall not apply to so much of a loss as is excluded from subsection (2) of section 393 by subsection (5) of that section or by section 397.

(3)Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, if for any accounting period any capital allowances fall to be made to the surrendering company which—

(a)are to be given by discharge or repayment of tax, and

(b)are to be available primarily against a specified class of income,

so much of the amount of those allowances (exclusive of any carried forward from an earlier period) as exceeds its income of the relevant class arising in that accounting period (before deduction of any losses of any other period or of any capital allowances) may be set off for purposes of corporation tax against the total profits of the claimant company for its corresponding accounting period.

(4)Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, if for any accounting period the surrendering company (being an investment company) may under subsection (1) of section 75 deduct as expenses of management any amount disbursed for that accounting period, so much of that amount (exclusive of any amount deductible only by virtue of subsection (3) of that section) as exceeds the company’s profits of that accounting period may be set off for purposes of corporation tax against the total profits of the claimant company (whether an investment company or not) for its corresponding accounting period.

(5)The surrendering company’s profits of the period shall be determined for the purposes of subsection (4) above without any deduction under section 75 and without regard to any deduction falling to be made in respect of losses or allowances of any other period.

(6)References in subsections (4) and (5) above to section 75 do not include references to that section as applied by section 76 to companies carrying on life assurance business.

(7)Subject to the provisions of this Chapter and section 494(4), if in any accounting period the surrendering company has paid any amount by way of charges on income, so much of that amount as exceeds its profits of the period may be set off for the purposes of corporation tax against the total profits of the claimant company for its corresponding accounting period.

(8)The surrendering company’s profits of the period shall be determined for the purposes of subsection (7) above without regard to any deduction falling to be made in respect of losses or allowances of any other period, or to expenses of management deductible only by virtue of section 75(3).

(9)In applying any of the preceding subsections in the case of a consortium claim—

(a)where the claimant company is a member of a consortium, only a fraction of the loss referred to in subsection (1) above, or of the excess referred to in subsection (3), (4) or (7) above, as the case may be, may be set off under the subsection in question;

(b)where the surrendering company is a member of a consortium that loss or excess shall not be set off under the subsection in question against more than a fraction of the total profits of the claimant company;

and that fraction shall be equal to that member’s share in the consortium in the accounting period referred to in section 402(4), subject to any further reduction under section 408(2) and subject also to sections 405(4) and 406(2) and (6).

(10)Where a company owned by a consortium—

(a)has in any relevant accounting period incurred such a loss as is referred to in subsection (1) above, and

(b)has profits (of whatever description) of that accounting period against which that loss could be set off under section 393(2),

the amount of that loss which is available to any member of the consortium on a consortium claim shall be determined on the assumption that the company owned by the consortium has made a claim under section 393(2) requiring the loss to be so set off.

(11)Where the company referred to in subsection (10) above is a group/consortium company, the amount of the loss shall be determined under that subsection before any reduction is made under section 405(1) to (3).

404Limitation of group relief in relation to certain dual resident companies

(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, no loss or other amount shall be available for set off by way of group relief in accordance with section 403 if, in the material accounting period of the company which would otherwise be the surrendering company, that company is for the purposes of this section a dual resident investing company.

(2)In this section “the material accounting period” means, according to the kind of group relief which would be appropriate, the accounting period—

(a)in which the loss is incurred; or

(b)for which the capital allowances fall to be made; or

(c)for which the expenses of management are disbursed; or

(d)for which the amount is paid by way of charges on income;

but subsection (1) above does not have effect unless the material accounting period begins on or after 1st April 1987.

(3)In Schedule 17—

(a)Part I has effect where an accounting period of a company in which it is a dual resident investing company begins before and ends on or after 1st April 1987 and references in subsections (1) and (2) above to the material accounting period shall be construed accordingly; and

(b)Part II has effect with respect to the time at which certain interest and other payments are to be treated as paid.

(4)A company is for the purposes of this section a dual resident company in any accounting period in which—

(a)it is resident in the United Kingdom; and

(b)it is also within a charge to tax under the laws of a territory outside the United Kingdom—

(i)because it derives its status as a company from those laws; or

(ii)because its place of management is in that territory; or

(iii)because under those laws it is for any other reason regarded as resident in that territory for the purposes of that charge.

(5)In any accounting period throughout which it is not a trading company, a dual resident company is for the purposes of this section an investing company.

(6)In any accounting period of a dual resident company in which it is a trading company, the company is nevertheless for the purposes of this section an investing company if—

(a)in that period it carries on a trade of such a description that its main function or one of its main functions consists of all or any of the following, namely—

(i)acquiring and holding, directly or indirectly, shares, securities or investments of any other description, including interests in companies (resident outside, as well as in, the United Kingdom) with which the dual resident company is connected, within the terms of section 839;

(ii)making payments which, by virtue of any enactment, are charges on income for the purposes of corporation tax;

(iii)making payments (of interest or other sums) which are similar to those referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) above but which are deductible in computing the profits of the company for the purposes of corporation tax;

(iv)obtaining funds (by borrowing or in any other manner whatsoever) for the purpose of, or otherwise in connection with, any of the activities referred to in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iii) above; or

(b)it does not fall within paragraph (a) above, but in that accounting period it carries on all or any of the activities referred to in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iv) of that paragraph and does so—

(i)to an extent which does not appear to be justified by any trade which it does carry on; or

(ii)for a purpose which does not appear to be appropriate to any such trade; or

(c)in that period—

(i)the amount paid by the company by way of charges on income exceeds its profits of the period, determined as mentioned in section 403(8); and

(ii)those charges include an amount which falls to be treated as a charge on income by virtue of section 78(2) or paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 4; and

(iii)the paying of those charges by the company is its main activity or one of its main activities.

405Claims relating to losses etc. of members of both group and consortium

(1)For the purposes of a consortium claim in respect of the loss or other amount of any relevant accounting period of a group/consortium company, that loss or other amount shall be treated as reduced (or, as the case may be, extinguished) by first deducting therefrom the potential relief attributable to group claims.

(2)Subject to subsection (3) below, in relation to the loss or other amount of a relevant accounting period of a group/consortium company, the potential relief attributable to group claims is the aggregate amount of group relief that would be claimed if every company which, as a member of the same group of companies as the group/consortium company, could make a group claim in respect of that loss or other amount made such a claim for an amount which, when set against the claimant company’s total profits for its corresponding accounting period, would equal those profits.

(3)Where for any accounting period another member of the group of companies of which the group/consortium company is a member has a loss or other amount available for relief and one or more group claims is or are in fact made in respect of that loss or other amount, account shall be taken of the relief so claimed before determining (in relation to the loss or other amount of the group/consortium company) the potential relief attributable to group claims under subsection (2) above.

(4)In any case where—

(a)a consortium claim is made by a group/consortium company in respect of a loss or other amount of an accounting period of a member of the consortium, and

(b)the corresponding accounting period of the group/consortium company is a relevant accounting period,

the total profits of the corresponding accounting period of the group/consortium company against a fraction of which that loss or other amount may be set off (in accordance with section 403(9)(b)) shall be treated as reduced (or as the case may be extinguished) by deducting therefrom the potential relief available to the group/consortium company by way of group claims.

(5)Subject to subsection (6) below, in relation to a relevant accounting period of a group/consortium company, the potential relief available to the company by way of group claims is the maximum amount of group relief that could be claimed by the company for that accounting period on group claims relating to the losses or other amounts available for relief of other members of the group of companies of which the group/consortium company is a member.

(6)Where another member of the group of companies of which the group/consortium company is a member in fact makes one or more group claims in respect of losses or other amounts of other members of the group, account shall be taken of the relief already claimed by that company in determining the potential relief available to the group/consortium company by way of group claims under subsection (5) above.

406Claims relating to losses etc. of consortium company or group member

(1)In this section—

(a)“link company” means a company which is a member of a consortium and is also a member of a group of companies; and

(b)“consortium company”, in relation to a link company, means a company owned by the consortium of which the link company is a member; and

(c)“group member”, in relation to a link company, means a company which is a member of the group of which the link company is also a member but is not itself a member of the consortium of which the link company is a member.

(2)Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, where the link company could (disregarding any deficiency of profits) make a consortium claim in respect of the loss or other amount eligible for relief of a relevant accounting period of a consortium company, a group member may make any consortium claim which could be made by the link company; and the fraction which is appropriate under section 403(9) where a group member is the claimant company shall be the same as that which would be appropriate if the link company were the claimant company.

(3)A group member may not, by virtue of subsection (2) above, make a consortium claim in respect of the loss or other amount of any accounting period of a consortium company unless the claimant company was a member of the group concerned throughout the whole of the accounting period or, as the case may be, each accounting period of the link company which, if that company were making the claim, would be a corresponding accounting period in relation to that accounting period of the consortium company.

(4)The maximum amount of relief which, in the aggregate, may be claimed by group members and the link company by consortium claims relating to the loss or other amount of a relevant accounting period of a consortium company shall not exceed the relief which could have been claimed by the link company (disregarding any deficiency of profits) if subsections (2) and (3) above had not been enacted.

(5)Subject to subsections (6) to (8) below, where a group member has for a relevant accounting period a loss or other amount available for relief, a consortium company may make any claim in respect of that loss or other amount which it could make if the group member were a member of the consortium at all times when the link company was such a member, but not at any other time.

(6)The fraction which is appropriate under section 403(9) in relation to a consortium claim made by virtue of subsection (5) above shall be the same as that which would be appropriate if the link company were the surrendering company, except that the accounting period in respect of which the member’s share in the consortium is to be ascertained shall be that of the group member which is in fact the surrendering company.

(7)A consortium company may not, by virtue of subsection (5) above, make a consortium claim in respect of the loss or other amount of any accounting period of a group member unless the group member was a member of the group in question throughout the whole of that accounting period.

(8)For any accounting period of a consortium company (“the claimant company’s accounting period”) the maximum amount of relief which, in the aggregate, may be claimed by that company by consortium claims relating to the losses or other amounts of accounting periods of the link company and group members shall not exceed that fraction of the total profits of the claimant company’s accounting period which would be brought into account under section 403(9)(b) on a consortium claim in respect of which—

(a)the link company was the surrendering company; and

(b)the link company’s accounting period was the same as the claimant company’s accounting period.

407Relationship between group relief and other relief

(1)Group relief for an accounting period shall be allowed as a deduction against the claimant company’s total profits for the period—

(a)before reduction by any relief derived from a subsequent accounting period, but

(b)as reduced by any other relief from tax (including relief in respect of charges on income under section 338(1)) determined on the assumption that the company makes all relevant claims under section 393(2) of this Act and section 74(3) of the 1968 Act (set-off of capital allowances against total profits).

(2)For the purposes of this section “relief derived from a subsequent accounting period” means—

(a)relief under section 393(2) or 394 in respect of a loss incurred in an accounting period after the accounting period the profits of which are being computed; and

(b)relief under section 74(3) of the 1968 Act in respect of capital allowances falling to be made for an accounting period after the accounting period the profits of which are being computed.

(3)The reductions to be made in total profits of an accounting period against which any relief derived from a subsequent accounting period is to be set off shall include any group relief for that first-mentioned accounting period.

408Corresponding accounting periods

(1)For the purposes of group relief an accounting period of the claimant company which falls wholly or partly within an accounting period of the surrendering company corresponds to that accounting period.

(2)If an accounting period of the surrendering company and a corresponding accounting period of the claimant company do not coincide—

(a)the amount which may be set off against the total profits of the claimant company for the corresponding accounting period shall be reduced by applying the fraction—

(if that fraction is less than unity); and

(b)the total profits of the claimant company for the corresponding accounting period shall be reduced by applying the fraction—

409Companies joining or leaving group or consortium

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, group relief shall be given if, and only if, the surrendering company and the claimant company are members of the same group, or fulfil the conditions for relief for a consortium, throughout the whole of the surrendering company’s accounting period to which the claim relates, and throughout the whole of the corresponding accounting period of the claimant company.

(2)Where on any occasion two companies become or cease to be members of the same group, then, for the purposes specified in subsection (3) below, it shall be assumed as respects each company that—

(a)on that occasion (unless a true accounting period of the company begins or ends then) an accounting period of the company ends and a new one begins, the new accounting period to end with the end of the true accounting period (unless before then there is a further break under this subsection); and

(b)the losses or other amounts of the true accounting period are apportioned to the component accounting periods; and

(c)the amount of total profits for the true accounting period of the company against which group relief may be allowed in accordance with section 407(1) is also apportioned to the component accounting periods;

and an apportionment under this subsection shall be on a time basis according to the respective lengths of the component accounting periods except that, if it appears that that method would work unreasonably or unjustly, such other method shall be used as appears just and reasonable.

(3)Where the one company is the surrendering company and the other company is the claimant company—

(a)references in section 403 to accounting periods, to profits, and to losses, allowances, expenses of management or charges on income of the surrendering company shall be construed in accordance with subsection (2) above;

(b)references in subsection (1) above and section 408 to accounting periods shall be so construed (so that if the two companies are members of the same group in the surrendering company’s accounting period, they must under that section also be members of the same group in any corresponding accounting period of the claimant company);

(c)references in section 408 to profits, and amounts to be set off against the profits, shall be so construed (so that an amount apportioned under subsection (2) above to a component accounting period may fall to be reduced under subsection (2) of that section).

(4)Subsections (2) and (3) above shall apply with the necessary modifications where a company begins or ceases to fulfil the conditions for relief for a consortium, either as a surrendering company or as a claimant company, as it applies where two companies become or cease to be members of the same group except that, in a case where—

(a)the surrendering company is owned by a consortium and two or more members of the consortium claim relief in respect of losses or other amounts of the surrendering company, or

(b)the claimant company is owned by a consortium and claims relief in respect of losses or other amounts of two or more members of the consortium,

the basis of apportionment which is adopted under subsection (2) above in relation to the losses or other amounts or, as the case may be, the total profits of the true accounting period of the company owned by the consortium shall be the same on each of the claims.

(5)In subsection (6) below—

• “the primary claim” means a consortium claim made in respect of the loss or other amount of a relevant accounting period of a company owned by a consortium;

• “the principal surrendering company” means that company; and

• “the principal accounting period” means that accounting period.

(6)In any case where—

(a)the company making the primary claim or, if that claim is made by virtue of section 406(2), the company which is the link company for the purposes of that subsection was not a member of the consortium throughout the whole of the principal accounting period; and

(b)on or after the date on which the primary claim is made, a consortium claim is made which—

(i)is in respect of the loss or other amount of an accounting period of a surrendering company (being a company owned by the consortium referred to in paragraph (a) above, other than the principal surrendering company); and

(ii)is made by the company making the primary claim or, in a case where it or the primary claim is made by virtue of section 406(2), is made by any member of the group in question other than the company making the primary claim;

and the accounting period to which the claim relates falls, in whole or in part, within the principal accounting period; and

(c)at any time during the principal accounting period the surrendering company is a member of the same group of companies as the principal surrendering company;

no relief shall be allowed on the primary claim, or, as the case may be, any relief which was so allowed shall be withdrawn.

(7)In any case where—

(a)a company (“the principal claimant company”) owned by a consortium makes a consortium claim (“the principal claim”) in respect of the loss or other amount of an accounting period of a member of the consortium or, if the principal claim is made by virtue of section 406(5), of a company which, in relation to that member of the consortium, is a group member, within the meaning of that section; and

(b)the member of the consortium concerned (whether as the surrendering company or the link company, within the meaning of section 406) was not a member of the consortium throughout the whole of that accounting period; and

(c)on or after the date on which the principal claim is made, a consortium claim is made—

(i)by a company, other than the principal claimant company, which is owned by the consortium and which is a member of the same group of companies as the principal claimant company; and

(ii)which relates to the loss or other amount of an accounting period of the consortium member referred to in paragraph (b) above or of a company which in relation to that consortium member is a group member, within the meaning of section 406;

and that accounting period falls, in whole or in part, in the accounting period referred to in paragraph (a) above;

no relief shall be allowed on the principal claim or, as the case may be, any relief which was so allowed shall be withdrawn.

(8)Where any relief which has been allowed is withdrawn by virtue of subsection (6) or (7) above, all such adjustments shall be made, whether by way of assessment or otherwise, as may be necessary in consequence of that withdrawal.

410Arrangements for transfer of company to another group or consortium

(1)If, apart from this section, two companies (“the first company” and (“the second company”) would be treated as members of the same group of companies and—

(a)in an accounting period one of the two companies has trading losses or other amounts eligible for relief from corporation tax which it would, apart from this section, be entitled to surrender by way of group relief; and

(b)arrangements are in existence by virtue of which, at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period—

(i)the first company or any successor of it could cease to be a member of the same group of companies as the second company and could become a member of the same group of companies as a third company; or

(ii)any person has or could obtain, or any persons together have or could obtain, control of the first company but not of the second; or

(iii)a third company could begin to carry on the whole or any part of a trade which, at any time in that accounting period, is carried on by the first company and could do so either as a successor of the first company or as a successor of another company which is not a third company but which, at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period, has begun to carry on the whole or any part of that trade;

then, for the purposes of this Chapter, the first company shall be treated as not being a member of the same group of companies as the second company.

(2)If a trading company is owned by a consortium or is a 90 per cent. subsidiary of a holding company which is owned by a consortium and—

(a)in any accounting period the trading company or a member of the consortium has trading losses or other amounts eligible for relief from corporation tax which it would, apart from this section, be entitled to surrender by way of group relief; and

(b)arrangements are in existence by virtue of which—

(i)the trading company or any successor of it could, at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period, become a 75 per cent. subsidiary of a third company; or

(ii)any person who owns, or any persons who together own, less than 50 per cent. of the ordinary share capital of the trading company has or together have, or could at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period obtain, control of the trading company; or

(iii)any person, other than a holding company of which the trading company is a 90 per cent. subsidiary, either alone or together with connected persons, holds or could obtain, or controls or could control the exercise of not less than 75 per cent. of the votes which may be cast on a poll taken at a general meeting of that trading company in that accounting period or in any subsequent accounting period; or

(iv)a third company could begin to carry on, at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period, the whole or any part of a trade which, at any time in that accounting period, is carried on by the trading company and could do so either as a successor of the trading company or as a successor of another company which is not a third company but which, at some time during or after the expiry of that accounting period, has begun to carry on the whole or any part of that trade;

then, for the purposes of this Chapter, the trading company shall be treated as though it did not (as the surrendering company or the claimant company) fall within section 402(3).

(3)In any case where a trading company is a 90 per cent. subsidiary of a holding company which is owned by a consortium, any reference in subsection (2) above to the trading company, other than a reference in paragraph (b)(iv), shall be construed as including a reference to the holding company.

(4)In this section “third company” means a company which, apart from any provision made by or under any such arrangements as are specified in paragraph (b) of either subsection (1) or subsection (2) above, is not a member of the same group of companies as the first company or, as the case may be, the trading company or the holding company to which subsection (2) above applies.

(5)In subsections (1) and (2) above—

• “arrangements” means arrangements of any kind whether in writing or not;

• “connected persons” shall be construed in accordance with section 839; and

• “control” has the meaning assigned by section 840.

(6)For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) above a company is the successor of another if it carries on a trade which, in whole or in part, the other company has ceased to carry on and the circumstances are such that—

(a)section 343 applies in relation to the two companies as the predecessor and the successor within the meaning of that section; or

(b)the two companies are connected with each other within the meaning of section 839.

(7)Where by virtue of any enactment a Minister of the Crown or Northern Ireland department has power to give directions to a statutory body as to the disposal of assets belonging to, or to a subsidiary of, that body, the existence of that power shall not be regarded as constituting or as having at any time constituted an arrangement within the meaning of this section.

411Exclusion of double allowances

(1)Relief shall not be given more than once in respect of the same amount, whether by giving group relief and by giving some other relief (in any accounting period) to the surrendering company, or by giving group relief more than once.

(2)In accordance with subsection (1) above, two or more claimant companies cannot, in respect of any one loss or other amount for which group relief may be given, and whatever their accounting periods corresponding to that of the surrendering company, obtain in all more relief than could be obtained by a single claimant company whose corresponding accounting period coincided with the accounting period of the surrendering company.

(3)Subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, if claims for group relief relating to the same accounting period of the same surrendering company are made by two or more claimant companies which themselves are members of a group of companies, and—

(a)all the claims so made are admissible only by virtue of subsection (2) and (3) of section 409, and

(b)there is a part of the surrendering company’s accounting period during which none of those claimant companies is a member of the same group as the surrendering company,

those claimant companies shall not obtain in all more relief than could be obtained by a single claimant company which was not a member of the same group as the surrendering company during that part of the surrendering company’s accounting period (but was a member during the remainder of that accounting period).

(4)If companies which are members of different groups make claims falling within subsection (3) above, that subsection shall apply separately in relation to the companies in each group.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (3) above, there shall be left out of account a claim made by a company if—

(a)the claimant company joins or leaves a group of companies at the same time as the surrendering company; and

(b)both before and after that time either the claimant company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of the surrendering company or the surrendering company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of the claimant company or both companies are 75 per cent. subsidiaries of another company.

(6)Subject to subsection (7) below, if claims as respects two or more surrendering companies which themselves are members of a group of companies are made by a claimant company for group relief to be set off against its total profits for any one accounting period, and—

(a)all the claims so made are admissible only by virtue of subsections (2) and (3) of section 409, and

(b)there is a part of the claimant company’s accounting period during which none of the surrendering companies by reference to which the claims are made is a member of the same group as the claimant company,

the claimant company shall not obtain in all more relief to be set off against its profits for the accounting period than it could obtain on a claim as respects a single surrendering company (with unlimited losses and other amounts eligible for relief) which was not a member of the same group as the claimant company during that part of the claimant company’s accounting period (but was a member during the remainder of that accounting period).

(7)If claims falling within subsection (6) above are made as respects surrendering companies which are members of different groups, that subsection shall apply separately in relation to claims as respects the surrendering companies in each group.

(8)For the purposes of subsection (6) above there shall be left out of account a claim made as respects a surrendering company if—

(a)the surrendering company joins or leaves the group of companies concerned at the same time as the claimant company; and

(b)both before and after that time either the surrendering company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of the claimant company or the claimant company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of the surrendering company or both companies are 75 per cent. subsidiaries of another company.

(9)References in subsections (3) to (6) above to claims for group relief do not include references to consortium claims.

(10)Without prejudice to the provisions of section 87(3) of the 1968 Act, any reference in Part I of that Act to an allowance made includes a reference to an allowance which would be made but for the granting of group relief, or but for that and but for an insufficiency of profits or other income against which to make it.

412Claims and adjustments

(1)A claim for group relief—

(a)need not be for the full amount available,

(b)shall require the consent of the surrendering company notified to the inspector in such form as the Board may require,

(c)must be made within two years from the end of the surrendering company’s accounting period to which the claim relates.

(2)A consortium claim shall require the consent of each member of the consortium, notified to the inspector in such form as the Board may require, in addition to the consent of the surrendering company.

(3)If the inspector discovers that any group relief which has been given is or has become excessive he may make an assessment to corporation tax under Case VI of Schedule D in the amount which ought in his opinion to be charged.

(4)Subsection (3) above is without prejudice to the making of an assessment under section 29(3)(c) of the Management Act and to the making of all such adjustments by way of discharge or repayment of tax or otherwise as may be required where a claimant company has obtained too much relief, or a surrendering company has forgone relief in respect of a corresponding amount.

413Interpretation of Chapter IV

(1)The following provisions of this section have effect for the interpretation of this Chapter.

(2)In this Chapter—

• “claimant company” has the meaning given by section 402(1);

• “consortium claim” means a claim for group relief made by virtue of section 402(3);

• “group claim” means a claim for group relief made by virtue of section 402(2);

• “group/consortium company” means a company which is both a member of a group of companies and a company owned by a consortium;

• “group relief” has the meaning given by section 402(1);

• “relevant accounting period” means an accounting period beginning after 31st July 1985; and

• “surrendering company” has the meaning given by section 402(1).

(3)For the purposes of this Chapter—

(a)two companies shall be deemed to be members of a group of companies if one is the 75 per cent. subsidiary of the other or both are 75 per cent. subsidiaries of a third company;

(b)“holding company” means a company the business of which consists wholly or mainly in the holding of shares or securities of companies which are its 90 per cent. subsidiaries and which are trading companies; and

(c)“trading company” means a company the business of which consists wholly or mainly in the carrying on of a trade or trades.

(4)In applying for the purposes of this Chapter the definition of “75 per cent. subsidiary” in section 838, any share capital of a registered industrial and provident society shall be treated as ordinary share capital.

(5)References in this Chapter to a company apply only to bodies corporate resident in the United Kingdom; and in determining for the purposes of this Chapter whether one company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of another, the other company shall be treated as not being the owner—

(a)of any share capital which it owns directly in a body corporate if a profit on a sale of the shares would be treated as a trading receipt of its trade; or

(b)of any share capital which it owns indirectly, and which is owned directly by a body corporate for which a profit on a sale of the shares would be a trading receipt; or

(c)of any share capital which it owns directly or indirectly in a body corporate not resident in the United Kingdom.

(6)References to a company being owned by a consortium shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (a) below except for the purposes of the definition of “group/consortium company” in subsection (2) above and of sections 403(10), 406(1)(b) and 409(5), (6) and (7), and for those purposes shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (b) below—

(a)a company is owned by a consortium if three-quarters or more of the ordinary share capital of the company is beneficially owned between them by companies of which none beneficially owns less than one-twentieth of that capital;

(b)a company is owned by a consortium if—

(i)it is either such a trading company as is referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3) of section 402 or such a holding company as is referred to in paragraph (c) of that subsection, and

(ii)three-quarters or more of the ordinary share capital of the company or, in the case of a company within section 402(3)(b), of its holding company is beneficially owned between them by companies of which none beneficially owns less than one-twentieth of that capital;

and the companies which so own three-quarters or more of that ordinary share capital are in this Chapter called the members of the consortium.

(7)Notwithstanding that at any time a company (“the subsidiary company”) is a 75 per cent. subsidiary or a 90 per cent. subsidiary of another company (“the parent company”) it shall not be treated at that time as such a subsidiary for the purposes of this Chapter unless, additionally at that time—

(a)the parent company is beneficially entitled to not less than 75 per cent. or, as the case may be, 90 per cent. of any profits available for distribution to equity holders of the subsidiary company; and

(b)the parent company would be beneficially entitled to not less than 75 per cent. or, as the case may be, 90 per cent. of any assets of the subsidiary company available for distribution to its equity holders on a winding-up.

(8)Subject to subsection (9) below, for the purposes of this Chapter, a member’s share in a consortium, in relation to an accounting period of the surrendering company, shall be whichever is the lowest in that period of the following percentages, namely—

(a)the percentage of the ordinary share capital of the surrendering or claimant company which is beneficially owned by that member;

(b)the percentage to which that member is beneficially entitled of any profits available for distribution to equity holders of the surrendering or claimant company; and

(c)the percentage to which that member would be beneficially entitled of any assets of the surrendering or claimant company available for distribution to its equity holders on a winding-up;

and if any of those percentages have fluctuated in that accounting period, the average percentage over the period shall be taken for the purposes of this subsection.

(9)In any case where the surrendering or claimant company is a subsidiary of a holding company which is owned by a consortium, for references in subsection (8) above to the surrendering or claimant company there shall be substituted references to the holding company.

(10)Schedule 18 shall have effect for supplementing this section.