Finance Act 1984

114 Sales of gas: treatment of certain payments. U.K.

(1) This section applies only in relation to oil consisting of gas and references in the following provisions of this section to oil shall be construed accordingly.

(2) In any case where, under a contract for the sale of oil won from an oil field, the consideration includes any sum—

(a) which is payable by the buyer in respect of a quantity of oil to be delivered at a specified time or in a specified period, and

(b) which is payable whether or not the buyer takes delivery of the whole of the oil at that time or in that period, and

(c) which, in the event that the buyer does not take delivery of the whole of the oil, entitles the buyer to delivery of oil free of charge at a later time or in a later period,

then, to the extent that the sum is payable in respect of oil which is not delivered at the time or in the period in question, the sum shall be treated for the purposes of the principal Act as an advance payment for the oil to be delivered free of charge and, accordingly, that oil shall be treated for those purposes as sold for a price which (subject to any additional element arising under the following provisions of this section) is equal to that advance payment.

(3) Where, in a case falling within subsection (2) above, an amount of oil is delivered free of charge in pursuance of the entitlement referred to in paragraph (c) of that subsection, the proportion of the advance payment referred to in that subsection which is to be attributed to that amount of oil shall be that which that amount of oil bears to the total quantity of oil of which the buyer is entitled to delivery free of charge by virtue of the payment of the sum in question.

(4) In any case where—

(a) by virtue of subsection (2) above a sum falls to any extent to be treated as an advance payment for oil to be delivered free of charge, but

(b) at the latest date at which oil could be delivered free of charge in pursuance of the entitlement referred to in paragraph (c) of that subsection, the whole or any part of the oil to which that entitlement relates has not been so delivered,

then at that latest date, one tonne of oil shall be deemed to be delivered as mentioned in paragraph (b) above and so much of the advance payment as has not, under subsection (3) above, been attributed to oil actually delivered shall be attributed to that one tonne.

(5) Where, under a contract for the sale of oil won from an oil field, the consideration includes any sums (in this section referred to as “capacity payments")—

(a) which are payable by the buyer at specified times or in respect of specified periods, and

(b) which, though they may vary in amount by reference to deliveries of oil or other factors, are payable whether or not oil is delivered under the contract at particular times or in particular periods, and

(c) which do not, under the terms of the contract or by virtue of subsection (2) above, fall to be treated, in whole or in part, as advance payments for oil to be delivered at some time after the times or periods at or in respect of which the sums are payable,

then, in so far as they would not do so apart from this subsection, the capacity payments shall be treated for the purposes of the principal Act as an additional element of the price received or receivable for the oil sold under the contract.

(6) For the purpose of determining, in a case where there are capacity payments under a contract for the sale of oil won from an oil field, the assessable profit or allowable loss accruing in a particular chargeable period to the participator by whom oil is sold under the contract, each capacity payment shall be treated as an additional element of the price received or receivable for the oil delivered by him under the contract in the chargeable period in which the capacity payment is paid or payable; and if no oil is in fact so delivered in a chargeable period in which a capacity payment is paid or payable, one tonne of oil shall be deemed to be so delivered in that period and, accordingly, the capacity payment shall be treated for the purposes of the principal Act as the price for which that tonne is sold.

(7) If, by virtue of subsection (4) or subsection (6) above, one tonne of oil is deemed to be delivered in any chargeable period of the oil field referred to in subsection (2) or, as the case may be, subsection (5) above, a return for that period by the participator concerned under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the principal Act shall give the like information in relation to that tonne as in relation to any other oil falling within sub-paragraph (2)(a) of that paragraph.