Finance Act 1999

97 Provisions supplementary to ss. 95 and 96

(1) For the purposes of section 95 above the marginal tax on the disposal receipts is the difference between—

(a) the amount of tax to which the seller is chargeable on the assessable profit accruing to him from the seller’s oil field in the period in which the asset or interest was disposed of; and

(b) the amount of tax to which the seller would have been so chargeable if the amount or value of the consideration received or receivable by him in respect of the disposal in that period of the asset or interest had been nil.

(2) For the purposes of that section—

(a) any question whether a person is connected with the seller shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of section 839 of the Taxes Act 1988;

(b) the relevant period is the period beginning with the time of the disposal of the asset or interest and ending with the time when the first claim is made for the allowance, for the lessee’s oil field, of expenditure incurred by the lessee or a successor of his under the lease in question or a lease of the relevant asset (and in this paragraph the reference to the lessee includes a reference to a person who is treated as the lessee by virtue of section 96 above);

(c) the applicable rate of tax is the rate at which tax is charged under section 1(2) of the principal Act at the time of the disposal of the asset or interest;

(d) the amount of the disposal receipts is the aggregate of the amount or value of any consideration received or receivable by the seller in respect of the disposal of the asset or interest;

(e) a chargeable period is a period in which the seller benefits from safeguard relief if and only if the tax payable by the seller for that period is less than it would have been if section 9 of the principal Act (safeguard relief) had not been enacted;

(f) the relevant time is the end of the earliest claim period for which a claim such as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above is made; and

(g) tariff receipts of the lessee shall be taken to be attributable to an oil field if and only if they are attributable to the field for any chargeable period for the purposes of the [1983 c. 56.] Oil Taxation Act 1983.

(3) In section 96 above references—

(a) to the transfer by a person of the whole or part of his interest in the lessee’s oil field; or

(b) in relation to a transfer, to the new participator,

shall be construed in accordance with Schedule 17 to the [1980 c. 48.] Finance Act 1980.

(4) The expenditure which for the purposes of sections 95 and 96 above shall be taken to be operating expenditure shall be so much of the expenditure incurred by the lessee or, as the case may be, a successor of his under the lease concerned as appears, on a just and reasonable estimate, to be operating expenditure.

(5) References in this section to a successor of the lessee shall be construed in accordance with section 96(5) above.

(6) In this section and sections 95 and 96 above—

• “the chargeable field” has the same meaning as in the Oil Taxation Act 1983;

• “lease”, in relation to an asset, has the same meaning as in sections 781 to 784 of the Taxes Act 1988;

• “the lease in question”, “the lessee”, “the lessee’s oil field”, “the relevant asset”, “the seller” and “the seller’s oil field” shall be construed in accordance with section 95(1) above;

• “operating expenditure” means expenditure (for example, in respect of the provision of staff or crew or the maintenance or operation of the relevant asset) of such a nature that the lessee or, as the case may be, his successor would or might have incurred it, otherwise than under any arrangements to finance his ownership, if he had been the owner of the asset;

• “the new participator’s lease” shall be construed in accordance with section 96(1) above;

• “the principal Act” means the [1975 c. 22.] Oil Taxation Act 1975;

• “qualifying asset” has the same meaning as in the Oil Taxation Act 1983; and

• “tariff receipts” has the same meaning as in that Act.

(7) This section and sections 95 and 96 above shall be construed as one with Part I of the principal Act.