Explanatory Notes

Income Tax Act 2007

2007 CHAPTER 3

20 March 2007

Commentary on Sections

Part 5: Enterprise investment scheme

Overview

Chapter 5: Attribution of and claims for EIS relief
Overview

654.This Chapter deals with attributing EIS relief to shares, claiming the relief and associated matters.

Section 201: Attribution of EIS relief to shares

655.This section attributes EIS relief for a tax year:

It is based on section 289B(1) to (3A) and (5) and (6) of ICTA.

656.These attributions are needed because the investor may have subscribed to more than one share issue of a single company, or to share issues of more than one company, during the tax year. Each such share issue to the investor may have different periods associated with it for the purpose of recovery or withdrawal of relief. And the question of whether relief is attributable to shares disposed of is also relevant to relief for losses on shares and for capital gains tax purposes.

657.Subsections (2) to (4) cater for cases where an individual claims EIS relief in respect of all of the shares in relation to which the individual is eligible for relief. They also cater for cases where an individual claims EIS relief in respect of some, but not all, of the shares in relation to which the individual is eligible for relief. See the commentary on section 158 and Change 36 in Annex 1.

Section 202: Time for making claims for EIS relief

658.This section sets out the intervals during which claims for EIS relief can be made for a tax year. It is based on sections 289B(5) and 306(1) of ICTA.

Section 203: Entitlement to claim

659.This section requires the investor to hold a certificate (compliance certificate) from the issuing company before claiming EIS relief. It is based on section 306(2), (7), and (8) of ICTA.

660.Subsection (2) omits the words “and admitted” which are in section 306(7) of ICTA. Those words are not needed as there is no separate PAYE admittance procedure.

Section 204: Compliance certificates

661.This section says what compliance certificates are and deals with matters associated with their issue to investors (including the pre-condition that the issuing company gives a compliance statement to HMRC). It is based on section 306(2), (3) and (4) of ICTA.

662.The compliance certificate is commonly known as an EIS 3, the form provided by HMRC for the issuing company to issue to its investors.

663.The reference to requirements for EIS relief being “for the time being met” in subsection (1)(b) is new. There is an explanation in Change 57 in Annex 1.

664.Subsection (5) requires an officer of Revenue and Customs to notify the officer’s decision on a request by the issuing company for permission to issue a compliance certificate. See Change 47 in Annex 1.

Section 205: Compliance statements

665.This section says what compliance statements are and deals with associated matters (including the period during which they can be given). It is based on section 306(3), (3A), (5) and (11) of ICTA.

666.The compliance statement is commonly known as an EIS 1, the form provided by HMRC for completion by the issuing company.

667.The reference to requirements for EIS relief being “for the time being met” in subsection (1)(a) is new. There is an explanation in Change 57 in Annex 1.

Section 206: Appeal against refusal to authorise compliance certificate

668.This section allows an issuing company to appeal, to an independent body, if the officer of Revenue and Customs refuses to authorise the issue of compliance certificates by the company. It is based on section 306(10) of ICTA.

Section 207: Penalties for fraudulent certificate or statement etc

669.This section provides for penalties in the circumstances set out. It is based on section 306(6) of ICTA.