Finance Act 1988

132 Liability of other persons for unpaid tax

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a company (“the migrating company”) ceases to be resident in the United Kingdom at any time; and

(b) any tax which is payable by the migrating company in respect of periods beginning before that time is not paid within six months from the time when it becomes payable.

(2) The Board may, at any time before the end of the period of three years beginning with the time when the amount of the tax is finally determined, serve on any person to whom subsection (3) below applies a notice—

(a) stating particulars of the tax payable, the amount remaining unpaid and the date when it became payable; and

(b) requiring that person to pay that amount within thirty days of the service of the notice.

(3) This subsection applies to the following persons, namely—

(a) any company which is, or within the relevant period was, a member of the same group as the migrating company; and

(b) any person who is, or within the relevant period was, a controlling director of the migrating company or of a company which has, or within that period had, control over the migrating company.

(4) Any amount which a person is required to pay by a notice under this section may be recovered from him as if it were tax due and duly demanded of him; and he may recover any such amount paid by him from the migrating company.

(5) A payment in pursuance of a notice under this section shall not be allowed as a deduction in computing any income, profits or losses for any tax purposes.

(6) In this section—

• “controlling director”, in relation to a company, means a director of the company who has control of it;

• “group” has the meaning which would be given by section 272 of the Taxes Act 1970 if in that section references to residence in the United Kingdom were omitted and for references to 75 per cent. subsidiaries there were substituted references to 51 per cent. subsidiaries;

• “the relevant period” means—

  (a)

  where the time when the migrating company ceases to be resident in the United Kingdom is less than twelve months after 15th March 1988, the period beginning with that date and ending with that time;

  (b)

  in any other case, the period of twelve months ending with that time.