Finance Act 1989

86 Spreading of relief for acquisition expenses. U.K.

[F1 (1) For the purposes of this section, the acquisition expenses for any period of an insurance company carrying on life assurance business are such of the following as for that period fall to be included at Step 1 in section 76(7) of the Taxes Act 1988 (expenses of insurance companies)—

(a) commissions (however described), other than commissions for persons who collect premiums from house to house,

(b) any other expenses payable solely for the purpose of the acquisition of business,

(c) so much of any other expenses payable partly for the purpose of the acquisition of business and partly for other purposes as are properly attributable to the acquisition of business,

reduced by the appropriate portion of the adjusted loss deduction (if any) for the purposes of Step 5 for the period.

The appropriate portion of the adjusted loss deduction is the amount which bears to the whole of that deduction the proportion which UAE bears to S1, where—

UAE is the amount of the acquisition expenses, before making the reduction required by this subsection; and

S1 is the sum of the amounts described in paragraphs (a) and (b) in Step 4.]

(2) The exclusion from paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above of commissions [F2 for persons who collect premiums from house to house] shall not prevent such commissions constituting [F3 expenses payable] for the purposes of paragraph(b) or paragraph (c) of that subsection.

(3) Nothing in subsections (1) and (2) above applies to commissions (however described) in respect of insurances made before 14th March 1989, but without prejudice to the application of those subsections to any commission attributable to a variation on or after that date in a policy issued in respect of an insurance made before that date; and, for this purpose, the exercise of any rights conferred by a policy shall be regarded as a variation of it.

F4 [( 3A ) Nothing in subsection (1), (2) or (3) above applies to commissions (however described) in respect of annuity contracts made in accounting periods beginning before 1st January 1992, but without prejudice to the application of subsections (1) and (2) above to any commission attributable to a variation, in an accounting period beginning on or after that date, of an annuity contract so made; and for this purpose the exercise of any rights conferred by an annuity contract shall be regarded as a variation of it.]

(4) In subsection (1) above “the acquisition of business” includes

F5 [( a )] the securing on or after 14th March 1989 of the payment of increased or additional premiums in respect of a policy of insurance issued in respect of an insurance already made (whether before, on or after that date) [F6 and

(b) the securing, in an accounting period beginning on or after 1st January 1992, of the payment of increased or additional consideration in respect of an annuity contract already made (whether in an accounting period beginning before, or on or after, that date)].

F7 (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F8 (5A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F9 (6) Only a portion of the acquisition expenses for any accounting period (in this section referred to as “the base period”) is to be relieved under section 76 of the Taxes Act 1988 for that period.

That portion is one-seventh of the adjusted amount of the acquisition expenses for the period.

For the purposes of this section the adjusted amount of the acquisition expenses for the period is so much of those expenses as remains after—

(a) including the whole of those expenses at Step 1,

(b) making any reduction in those expenses which is required at Step 2, and

(c) deducting any amount of reinsurance commission or any repayment or refund (in whole or in part) that falls for the period to be charged to tax under section 85 above,

Effect is given to this subsection at Step 6 (which requires the deduction of six-sevenths of the adjusted amount of the acquisition expenses for the period).]

F10 (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F11 (8) This subsection applies in any case where, in accordance with subsection (6) above, only a fraction of the adjusted amount of the acquisition expenses for the base period is to be relieved under section 76 of the Taxes Act 1988 for that period.

In any such case—

(a) a further fraction of the adjusted amount of those expenses is to be relieved under that section for each succeeding accounting period after the base period, until the whole of the adjusted amount has been relieved,

(b) the fraction is one-seventh, except that for any accounting period of less than a year the fraction is to be proportionately reduced, and

(c) the relief is given by including that fraction of the adjusted amount at paragraph (b) of Step 8,

but this is subject to subsection (9) below.

(9) For any accounting period for which—

(a) the fraction of the adjusted amount of the acquisition expenses for the base period which would otherwise fall to be relieved in accordance with subsection (8) above, exceeds

(b) the balance of that adjusted amount which has not been so relieved for earlier accounting periods,

only that balance shall be so relieved.]

[F12 (9A) In this section “expenses payable” has the same meaning as in Step 1.

(9B) Any reference in this section to a numbered Step is a reference to the Step so numbered in section 76(7) of the Taxes Act 1988.]

(10) This section has effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1st January 1990 (including the 1990 component period).

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 86(1) substituted for s. 86(1)-(1B) (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(2)

F2 Words in s. 86(2) substituted (29.4.1996 with effect in relation to accounting periods beginning on or after 1.1.1996) by 1996 c. 8, s. 167(3)(b)(10)

F3 Words in s. 86(2) substituted (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(3)

F4 S. 86(3A) inserted(for accounting periods beginning on or after 01.01.1992) by Finance Act 1991 (c. 31, SIF 63:1), s. 48, Sch. 7 paras. 13(2), 18.

F5 S. 86(4)"(a)" inserted(for accounting periods beginning on or after 01.01.1992) by Finance Act 1991 (c. 31, SIF 63:1), s. 48, Sch. 7 paras. 13(3), 18.

F6 S. 86(4)(b) and word preceding it inserted(for accounting periods beginning on or after 01.01.1992) by Finance Act 1991 (c. 31, SIF 63:1), s. 48, Sch. 7 paras. 13(3), 18.

F7 S. 86(5) repealed (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(4)(a), Sch. 42 Pt. 2(3)

F8 S. 86(5A) repealed (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(4)(b), Sch. 42 Pt. 2(3)

F9 S. 86(6) substituted (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(5)

F10 S. 86(7) repealed (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(6), Sch. 42 Pt. 2(3)

F11 S. 86(8)(9) substituted (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(7)

F12 S. 86(9A)(9B) inserted (with effect in accordance with ss. 42-44 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), Sch. 6 para. 8(8)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 86 modified (retrospective to 1.1.1995) by S.I. 1997/473, regs. 1(2), 39