Finance Act 2006

45 Films: terminal losses

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a film production company (“company A”) ceases to carry on a trade in relation to a qualifying film, and

(b) if the company had not ceased to carry on the trade, it could have carried forward an amount under section 393(1) of ICTA 1988 to be set against profits of the same trade in a later period (the “terminal loss”).

(2) If on cessation of the trade company A is carrying on a trade in relation to another qualifying film, it may on making a claim elect that the terminal loss or a part of it shall be treated as if it were a loss brought forward under section 393(1) to be set against profits of that other trade in the accounting period following that at the end of which the cessation takes place.

(3) If on cessation of the trade carried on by company A there is another film production company (“company B”) which—

(a) is carrying on a trade in relation to a qualifying film (its “qualifying trade”), and

(b) is in the same group as company A for the purposes of Chapter 4 of Part 10 of ICTA (group relief),

the whole or part of the terminal loss may be surrendered by company A to company B.

(4) On the making of a claim by company B the amount surrendered shall be treated as if it were a loss brought forward by that company under section 393(1) to be set against the profits of its qualifying trade for the accounting period of that company following that in which or at the end of which the cessation takes place of the qualifying trade carried on by company A.

(5) The Treasury may, in relation to the surrender of a loss under subsection (3) and the resulting claim under subsection (4), make provision by regulations corresponding, subject to such adaptations or other modifications as appear to them to be appropriate, to that made by Part 8 of Schedule 18 to FA 1998 (company tax returns: claims for group relief).

(6) In this section—

(a) references to the trade carried on by a film production company in relation to a film are to the trade that it is treated as carrying on under Schedule 4, and

(b) references to a qualifying film are to a film that meets the conditions for film tax relief (see section 38).