Part IIU.K. General Provisions relating to computation of gains and acquisitions and disposals of assets

Chapter IIU.K. Assets and disposals of assets

General provisionsU.K.

25 Non-residents: deemed disposals.U.K.

(1)Where an asset ceases by virtue of becoming situated outside the United Kingdom to be a chargeable asset in relation to a person, he shall be deemed for all purposes of this Act—

(a)to have disposed of the asset immediately before the time when it became situated outside the United Kingdom, and

(b)immediately to have reacquired it,

at its market value at that time.

(2)Subsection (1) above does not apply—

(a)where the asset becomes situated outside the United Kingdom contemporaneously with the person there mentioned ceasing to carry on a trade in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency, or

(b)where the asset is an exploration or exploitation asset.

(3)Where an asset ceases to be a chargeable asset in relation to a person by virtue of his ceasing to carry on a trade in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency, he shall be deemed for all purposes of this Act—

(a)to have disposed of the asset immediately before the time when he ceased to carry on the trade in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency, and

(b)immediately to have reacquired it,

at its market value at that time.

(4)Subsection (3) above shall not apply to an asset by reason of a transfer of the whole or part of the long term business of an insurance company to another company if section 139 has effect in relation to the asset by virtue of section 211.

(5)Subsection (3) above does not apply to an asset which is a chargeable asset in relation to the person there mentioned at any time after he ceases to carry on the trade in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency and before the end of the chargeable period in which he does so.

(6)In this section—

  • exploration or exploitation asset” means an asset used in connection with exploration or exploitation activities carried on in the United Kingdom or a designated area, and

  • designated area” and “exploration or exploitation activities” have the same meanings as in section 276.

(7)For the purposes of this section an asset is at any time a chargeable asset in relation to a person if, were it to be disposed of at that time, any chargeable gains accruing to him on the disposal—

(a)would be gains in respect of which he would be chargeable to capital gains tax under section 10(1), or

(b)would form part of his chargeable profits for corporation tax purposes by virtue of section 10(3).

(8)This section shall apply as if references to a trade included references to a profession or vocation.