Finance (No. 2) Act 2010

9 Insurance companies: business transfers involving excess assets

(1) In Chapter 1 of Part 12 of ICTA (insurance companies etc), after section 432CA insert—

“432CB Transfers of business involving excess assets

(1) This section applies where, under an insurance business transfer scheme, there is a transfer of long-term business—

(a) from a non-profit fund of an insurance company (“the transferor”) which is not a non-profit company in relation to the relevant period of account,

(b) to another insurance company (“the transferee”) to constitute or form part of a non-profit fund of the transferee (“the transferee’s non-profit fund”),

(“the transfer”) and conditions A and B are met.

(2) Condition A is that the fair value of the assets transferred by the transfer exceeds by an amount (“the chargeable excess”) the amount of the relevant liabilities transferred by the transfer.

For this purpose “relevant” liabilities are liabilities of a type shown (or treated as shown) in any of lines 14, 17, 21 to 23 and 31 to 38 of Form 14 of a periodical return of an insurance company.

(3) Condition B is that the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the transferor or the transferee (or both) in entering into any part of the transfer scheme arrangements is to secure a reduction in tax as a result of section 432C having effect in the case of the transferee, rather than the transferor, in relation to the business transferred by the transfer.

(4) The chargeable excess is to be brought into account by the transferor as mentioned in section 83(2)(b) of the Finance Act 1989 for the relevant period of account.

(5) Where there is no amount shown in relation to the transferee’s non-profit fund in column 1 of line 51 of Form 14 of the periodical return of the transferee for the first period of account of the transferee ending on or after the transfer date (“the first post-transfer period of account”), the chargeable excess is to be brought into account by the transferee as mentioned in section 83(2) of the Finance Act 1989 as a decrease in the value of non-linked assets for the first post-transfer period of account.

(6) Where—

(a) there is an amount shown in relation to the transferee’s non-profit fund in column 1 of line 51 of Form 14 of the periodical return of the transferee for the first post-transfer period of account, and

(b) the amount so shown in column 1 of line 51 of Form 14 of the periodical return of the transferee for that period of account, or for any other period of account of the transferee ending after the transfer date, (an “affected period of account”) is less than the total chargeable excess amount,

the relevant amount is to be brought into account by the transferee as mentioned in section 83(2) of the Finance Act 1989 as a decrease in the value of non-linked assets for the affected period of account.

(7) For this purpose “the relevant amount” is the amount by which—

(a) the amount shown in relation to the transferee’s non-profit fund in column 1 of line 51 of Form 14 of the periodical return of the transferee for the affected period of account, is less than

(b) the total chargeable excess amount less any amount brought into account by the transferee as mentioned in section 83(2) of the Finance Act 1989 as a decrease in the value of non-linked assets for any earlier period of account by virtue of the operation of this section in relation to the transferee’s non-profit fund.

(8) In subsections (6) and (7) “the total chargeable excess amount” means the aggregate of—

(a) the chargeable excess, and

(b) any amount which is the chargeable excess in relation to any other transfer of business to the transferee’s non-profit fund.

(9) In this section “the relevant period of account” means—

(a) the period of account of the transferor ending immediately before the transfer date, or

(b) if no period of account of the transferor so ends, the period of account of the transferor covering the transfer date.

(10) In this section “the transfer scheme arrangements” means the insurance business transfer scheme and any relevant associated operations; and for this purpose “relevant associated operations” means—

(a) any other insurance business transfer scheme,

(b) any contract of reinsurance, or

(c) any reconstruction or amalgamation involving the transferor, a dependant of the transferor which is an insurance undertaking or the transferee,

which is effected in connection with the insurance business transfer scheme.

(11) In subsection (10)—

• “dependant”, and

• “insurance undertaking”,

have the same meaning as in the Insurance Prudential Sourcebook.

(12) In this section “the transfer date” means the date on which the insurance business transfer scheme takes effect.

(13) For the purposes of this section an insurance company which has elected under section 83YA(9) of the Finance Act 1989 (changes in value of assets brought into account: non-profit companies) to be treated as a non-profit company in relation to a period of account is to be regarded as a non-profit company in relation to the period of account.”

(2) The amendment made by subsection (1) has effect in relation to transfers of business taking place on or after 24 March 2010.