Finance Act 2000

Treatment of deemed trading loss

23 (1) This paragraph applies where under paragraph 14 (alternative treatment of pre-trading expenditure) a company is treated as incurring a trading loss in an accounting period (“the accounting period”).

(2) The trading loss may not be set off against profits of a preceding accounting period under section 393A(1)(b) of the Taxes Act 1988 unless the company is entitled to R&D tax relief under paragraph 14 above for that earlier period.

(3) If the company begins, in the accounting period or a later period, to carry on a trade which falls within sub-paragraph (4), then—

(a) subject to paragraph 19 (restriction on losses carried forward), and

(b) to the extent that—

(i) the company has not obtained relief in respect of the trading loss under any other provision, and

(ii) the loss has not been surrendered under section 403(1) of the Taxes Act 1988 (surrender of relief to group or consortium members),

the loss shall be treated as if it were a loss of that trade brought forward under section 393 of the Taxes Act 1988 (relief of trading losses against future trading profits).

(4) A trade falls within this sub-paragraph if it is derived from the research and development in relation to which the R&D tax relief in question was obtained under paragraph 14.