Finance Act 2004

Part 1 U.K. Conditions to be satisfied by individuals

General U.K.

1 (1) In the case of an application for an individual to be registered for gross payment, the following conditions must be satisfied by the individual. U.K.

(2) But where the application is for the registration of the individual as a partner in a firm, this Part of this Schedule has effect with the omission of paragraphs 2 and 3.

The business test U.K.

2 U.K. The applicant must satisfy the Inland Revenue, by such evidence as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Board of Inland Revenue, that he is carrying on a business in the United Kingdom which—

(a) consists of or includes the carrying out of construction operations or the furnishing or arranging for the furnishing of labour in carrying out construction operations, and

(b) is, to a substantial extent, carried on by means of an account with a bank.

The turnover test U.K.

3 (1) The applicant must satisfy the Inland Revenue, by such evidence as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Board of Inland Revenue, that the carrying on of the business mentioned in paragraph 2 is likely to involve the receipt in the year following the making of the application of an aggregate amount by way of relevant payments which is not less than the amount specified in regulations made by the Board as the minimum turnover for the purposes of this sub-paragraph. U.K.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) “relevant payments” means payments under contracts relating to, or to the work of individuals participating in the carrying out of, any operations which—

(a) are of a description specified in subsection (2) of section 74; but

(b) are not of a description specified in subsection (3) of that section,

other than so much of the payments as represents the direct cost to the person receiving the payments of materials used or to be used in carrying out the operations in question.

(3) The Board may make regulations for the purpose of enabling a person who does not satisfy the condition in sub-paragraph (1) to be treated as satisfying that condition in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

The compliance test U.K.

4 (1) The applicant must, subject to sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), have complied with— U.K.

[F1 (a) any obligation imposed on him in the qualifying period (see paragraph 14)—

(i) to pay the amount liable to be deducted under section 61 of this Act from payments made during that period,

(ii) to submit returns as required by regulations made under section 70 of this Act,

(iii) to pay the tax liable to be deducted under [F2 PAYE regulations], and

(iv) to submit a self-assessment return, and

[F3 (v) to account for or pay VAT as required by or under the Value Added Tax Act 1994, and]]

(b) all requests made in the qualifying period to supply to the Inland Revenue accounts of, or other information about, any business of his.

(2) An applicant who at any time in the qualifying period had control of a company is to be taken not to satisfy the condition in sub-paragraph (1) unless the company has satisfied that condition in relation to the period or periods within the qualifying period during which he had control of it; and for this purpose “control” is to be construed in accordance with [F4 sections 450 and 451 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010].

(3) An applicant or company that has failed to comply with such an obligation or request as—

(a) is referred to in sub-paragraph (1), and

(b) is of a kind prescribed by regulations made by the Board of Inland Revenue,

is, in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations, to be treated as satisfying the condition in that sub-paragraph as regards that obligation or request.

(4) An applicant or company that has failed to comply with such an obligation or request as is referred to in sub-paragraph (1) is to be treated as satisfying the condition in that sub-paragraph as regards that obligation or request if the Board of Inland Revenue are of the opinion that—

(a) the applicant or company had a reasonable excuse for the failure to comply, and

(b) if the excuse ceased, he or it complied with the obligation or request without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.

(5) Where the applicant states, for the purpose of showing that he has complied with all obligations imposed on him as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1), that he was not subject to any of one or more obligations in respect of any period within the qualifying period—

(a) he must satisfy the Board of Inland Revenue of that fact by such evidence as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Board; and

(b) if for that purpose he states that he has been outside the United Kingdom for the whole or any part of the qualifying period, he must also satisfy them, by such evidence as may be so prescribed, that he has complied with any obligations imposed under the tax laws of any country in which he was living during that period which are comparable to the obligations mentioned in sub-paragraph (1).

(6) The applicant must, if any contribution has at any time during the qualifying period become due from him under—

(a) Part 1 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c. 4), or

(b) Part 1 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7),

have paid the contribution when it became due.

(7) There must be reason to expect that the applicant will, in respect of periods after the qualifying period, comply with—

(a) such obligations as are referred to in sub-paragraphs (1) to (6), and

(b) such requests as are referred to in sub-paragraph (1).

(8) Subject to sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), a person is not to be taken for the purposes of this paragraph to have complied with any such obligation or request as is referred to in sub-paragraphs (1) to (5) if there has been a contravention of a requirement as to—

(a) the time at which, or

(b) the period within which,

the obligation or request was to be complied with.

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 11 para. 4(1)(a) substituted (6.4.2016) by The Income Tax (Construction Industry Scheme) (Amendment of Schedule 11 to the Finance Act 2004) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/404), arts. 1, 2(a)

F2 Words in Sch. 11 para. 4(1)(a)(iii) substituted (with effect in accordance with s. 35(4) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2024 (c. 3), s. 35(3)(a)(i) (with s. 35(5))

F3 Sch. 11 para. 4(1)(a)(v) inserted (with effect in accordance with s. 35(4) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2024 (c. 3), s. 35(3)(a)(ii) (with s. 35(5))

F4 Words in Sch. 11 para. 4(2) substituted (with effect in accordance with s. 1184(1) of the amending Act) by Corporation Tax Act 2010 (c. 4), s. 1184(1), Sch. 1 para. 430 (with Sch. 2)