Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

96 Farming and market gardening: relief for fluctuating profits

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person who is or has been carrying on a trade of farming or market gardening in the United Kingdom may claim that subsection (2) or (3) below shall have effect in relation to his profits from that trade for any two consecutive years of assessment if his profits for either year do not exceed such part of his profits for the other year as is there specified.

(2) If the claimant’s profits for either year do not exceed seven-tenths of his profits for the other year or are nil, his profits for each year shall be adjusted so as to be equal to one-half of his profits for the two years taken together or, as the case may be, for the year for which there are profits.

(3) If the claimant’s profits for either year exceed seven-tenths but are less than three-quarters of his profits for the other year, his profits for each year shall be adjusted by adding to the profits that are lower and deducting from those that are higher an amount equal to three times the difference between them less three-quarters of those that are higher.

(4) No claim shall be made under this section—

(a) in respect of any year of assessment before a year in respect of which a claim has already been made under this section; or

(b) in respect of a year of assessment in which the trade is (or by virtue of section 113(1) is treated as) set up and commenced or permanently discontinued.

(5) Any adjustment under this section shall have effect for all the purposes of the Income Tax Acts (including any further application of this section where the second of any two years of assessment is the first of a subsequent pair) except that—

(a) subsection (2) above shall not prevent a person obtaining relief under those Acts for a loss sustained by him in any year of assessment;

(b) any adjustment under this section shall be disregarded for the purposes of section 63(1)(b); and

(c) where, after a claim has been made under this section in respect of the profits for any two years of assessment, the profits for both or either of those years are adjusted for any other reason, this section shall have effect as if the claim had not been made but without prejudice to the making of a further claim in respect of those profits as so adjusted.

(6) This section applies to the profits of a trade carried on by a person in partnership as it applies to the profits of a sole trader except that—

(a) the profits to which the claim relates shall be those chargeable in accordance with section 111; and

(b) any claim in respect of those profits shall be made jointly by all the partners who are individuals;

and where during the years of assessment to which the claim relates there is a change in the persons engaged in carrying on the trade but a notice is given under section 113(2), the claim shall be made jointly by all the persons who are individuals and have been engaged in carrying on the trade at any time during those years.

Where a person who is required by this subsection to join in the making of a claim has died, this subsection shall have effect as if it required his personal representatives to join in making the claim.

(7) In this section references to profits from a trade for a year of assessment are references to the profits or gains from that trade which are chargeable to income tax for that year before—

(a) any deduction for losses sustained in any year of assessment;

(b) any deduction or addition for capital allowances or charges (not being allowances or charges given or made by deduction or addition in the computation of profits or gains);

(c) any deduction for relief under Schedule 9 to the [1981 c. 35.] Finance Act 1981 (stock relief).

(8) Any claim under this section shall be made by notice given to the inspector not later than two years after the end of the second of the years of assessment to which the claim relates but any such further claim as is mentioned in subsection (5)(c) above shall not be out of time if made before the end of the year of assessment following that in which the adjustment is made.

(9) Where a person makes a claim under this section in respect of any year of assessment, any claim by him for relief for that year under any other provision of the Income Tax Acts—

(a) shall not be out of time if made before the end of the period in which the claim under this section is required to be made; and

(b) if already made, may be revoked or amended before the end of that period;

but no claim shall by virtue of this subsection be made, revoked or amended after the determination of the claim under this section.

(10) There shall be made all such alterations of assessments or repayments of tax (whether in respect of such profits as are mentioned in subsection (1) above or of other income of the person concerned) as may be required in consequence of any adjustment under this section.

(11) Nothing in this section shall be construed as applying to profits chargeable to corporation tax.

(12) This section applies where the first of the two years mentioned in subsection (1) above is the year 1987-88 or a subsequent year of assessment.