Finance Act 2020

20 Repaying sums paid to HMRC under agreements relating to certain loans etc U.K.

(1) The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (“the Commissioners”) must establish a scheme under which they may on an application made to them before 1 October 2021—

(a) repay the whole or part of a qualifying amount paid or treated as paid to them under a qualifying agreement, or

(b) waive the payment of the whole or part of a qualifying amount due to be paid to them under a qualifying agreement.

(2) An agreement is a qualifying agreement if—

(a) it is an agreement with the Commissioners,

(b) it is made on or after 16 March 2016 and before 11 March 2020, and

(c) it imposes an obligation on any party to the agreement to pay an amount of income tax that is referable (directly or indirectly) to a qualifying loan or quasi-loan.

(3) An amount paid, treated as paid or due to be paid under a qualifying agreement is a qualifying amount if—

(a) the amount is referable (directly or indirectly) to a qualifying loan or quasi-loan, and

(b) the amount is one that an officer of Revenue and Customs had no power to recover at the time the agreement was made.

(4) But an amount that is referable (directly or indirectly) to a qualifying loan or quasi-loan made on or after 9 December 2010 is not a qualifying amount by reason of subsection (3) unless at a time when an officer of Revenue and Customs had power to recover the amount a tax return, or two or more tax returns of the same type taken together, contained a reasonable disclosure of the loan or quasi-loan.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), a tax return, or two or more tax returns taken together, contained a reasonable disclosure of the loan or quasi-loan if the return or returns taken together—

(a) identified the qualifying loan or quasi-loan,

(b) identified the person to whom the qualifying loan or quasi-loan was made,

(c) identified any arrangements in pursuance of which, or in connection with which, the qualifying loan or quasi-loan was made, and

(d) provided such other information as was sufficient for it to be apparent that a reasonable case could have been made that the amount concerned was payable to the Commissioners.

(6) An amount paid, treated as paid or due to be paid under a qualifying agreement is also a qualifying amount if it is interest on another qualifying amount paid, treated as paid or due to be paid under that agreement.

(7) A loan or quasi-loan is a qualifying loan or quasi-loan if it is made on or after 6 April 1999 and before 6 April 2016.

(8) In this section—

• “loan” and “quasi-loan” have the meaning they have in Part 1 of Schedule 11 to F(No.2)A 2017 and Schedule 12 to that Act (see paragraph 2 of each of those Schedules), and

• “tax return” means—

  (a)

  a return made under section 8 of TMA 1970 and any accompanying accounts, statements or documents, or

  (b)

  a return made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 18 to FA 1998,

  and a tax return is of the same type as another if both fall within the same paragraph of this definition.

(9) Section 21 makes further provision in connection with the scheme established under this section.