Finance Act 1989

102 Surrender of company tax refund etc. within group. U.K.

(1) Subsection (2) below applies where—

(a) there falls to be made to a company (“the surrendering company”)which is a member of a group throughout the appropriate period a tax refund relating to an accounting period of the company (“the relevant accounting period”), and

(b) another company (“the recipient company”) which is a member of the same group throughout the appropriate period also has the relevant accounting period as an accounting period.

(2) Where this subsection applies the two companies may, at any time before the refund is made to the surrendering company, jointly give notice to the inspector in such form as the Board may require that subsection (4) below is to have effect in relation to the refund or to any part of the refund specified in the notice.

(3) In subsection (1) above—

• “appropriate period” means the period beginning with the relevant accounting period and ending on the day on which the notice under subsection (2) above is given, and

• “tax refund relating to an accounting period” means, in relation to a company—

(a) a repayment of corporation tax paid by the company for the period,

(b) a repayment of income tax in respect of a payment received by the company in the period, or

(c) a payment of the whole or part of the tax credit comprised in any franked investment income received by the company in the period.

(4) Subject to subsection (6) below, where this subsection has effect in relation to any refund or part of a refund—

(a) the recipient company shall be treated for all purposes of the Tax Acts as having paid on the relevant date an amount of corporation tax for the relevant accounting period equal to the amount of the refund or part, and

(b) there shall be treated for all those purposes as having been made to the surrendering company on the relevant date a repayment of corporation tax or income tax or a payment of tax credit (as the case may be) equal to the amount of the refund or part;

and where the refund is a repayment of corporation tax, any interest relating to it which has been paid by the surrendering company shall be treated as having been paid by the recipient company.

[F1 (4A) Where subsection (4) above has effect in relation to any amount and there is, by virtue of any of subsections (7) to [F2 (7CA)] of section 826 of the Taxes Act 1988, a period for which the whole or any part of that amount would not, had the refund been made to the surrendering company, have carried interest under that section, that period shall be treated as excluded—

(a) from any period for which any refund made by virtue of subsection (4) above to the recipient company in respect of some or all of that amount or, as the case may be, that part of it is to carry interest under that section; and

(b) from any period for which a sum representing some or all of that amount or part would (apart from this subsection) be treated by virtue of subsection (4) above as not carrying interest under section 87A of the M1 Taxes Management Act 1970;

and in determining for the purposes of this subsection which part of any amount is applied in discharging a liability of the recipient company to pay any corporation tax and which part is represented by a refund to the recipient company, it shall be assumed that the part in relation to which there is a period which would not have carried interest under section 826 of the Taxes Act 1988 is applied in preference to any other part of that amount in or towards discharging the liability.]

(5) In subsection (4) above “relevant date”, in relation toa refund, means—

(a) in so far as it consists of a repayment of corporation tax paid by the surrendering company after the date on which it became due and payable under [F3 section 59D or 59E of the Taxes Management Act 1970], the day on which it was paid by that company, and

(b) otherwise, the date on which corporation tax for the relevant accounting period became due and payable.

(6) For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of any penalty to which the recipient company is liable under [F4 paragraph 18 of the Taxes Management Act 1970], the corporation tax which the company is treated as having paid by subsection (4)(a) above shall be treated as paid on the day on which the notice under subsection (2) above is given (and not on the relevant date).

(7) A payment for a transferred tax refund—

(a) shall not be taken into account in computing profits or losses of either company for corporation tax purposes, and

(b) shall not for any of the purposes of the Corporation Tax Acts be regarded as a distribution F5 ... ;

and in this subsection “a payment for a transferred tax refund” means a payment made by the receiving company to the surrendering company in pursuance of an agreement between them as respects the giving of a notice under this section, being a payment not exceeding the amount of the refund in question.

(8) For the purposes of this section two companies are members of the same group if and only if they would be for the purposes of Chapter IV of Part X of the Taxes Act 1988.

(9) This section shall not apply unless the relevant accounting period ends after such day, not being earlier than 31st March 1992, as the Treasury may by order made by statutory instrument appoint.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 102(4A) inserted (27.7.1993) by 1993 c. 34, s. 120, Sch. 14 para. 11

F2 Words in s. 102(4A) substituted (1.5.1995) by 1995 c. 4, s. 130, Sch. 24 Pt. II para. 12(3)

F3 Words in s. 102(5)(a) substituted (27.7.199 with effect in relation to accounting periods ending on or after 1.7.1999) by 1999 c. 16, s. 89(2)(3)

F4 Words in s. 102(6) substituted (27.7.1999 with effect in relation to accounting periods ending on or after 1.7.1999) by 1999 c. 16, s. 93(1)(2), Sch. 11 para. 3

F5 Words in s. 102(7)(b) repealed (with effect in accordance with Sch. 11 Pt. 2(7) Note of the amending Act) by Finance (No. 2) Act 2005 (c. 22), Sch. 11 Pt. 2(7)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 102 applied (with modifications) (7.1.1999) by The Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/3175), reg. 9(1) (as amended (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by S.I. 2005/889, regs. 1(1), 8)

Marginal Citations

M1 1970 c. 9.