Finance Act 2003

Investment managers: the 20% rule

4 (1) The requirements of the 20% rule are—

(a) that in relation to a qualifying period (see sub-paragraph (2)) it has been or is the intention of the investment manager and the persons connected with him that the company’s relevant excluded income (see sub-paragraph (3)) should, as to at least 80%, consist of amounts to which neither he nor any such person has a beneficial entitlement (see sub-paragraph (4)), and

(b) to the extent that there is a failure to fulfil that intention, that failure—

(i) is attributable (directly or indirectly) to matters outside the control of the investment manager and persons connected with him, and

(ii) does not result from a failure by him or any of those persons to take such steps as may be reasonable for mitigating the effect of those matters in relation to the fulfilment of that intention.

(2) A “qualifying period” means—

(a) the accounting period in which the transaction in question is carried out, or

(b) a period of not more than five years comprising two or more complete accounting periods including that one.

(3) The “relevant excluded income” of a non-resident company for a qualifying period is the aggregate of such of the chargeable profits of the company for the accounting periods comprised in the qualifying period as derive from transactions carried out by the investment manager on the company’s behalf in relation to which the manager does not (apart from the requirements of the 20% rule) fall to be treated as a permanent establishment of the company.

(4) A person has a “beneficial entitlement” to relevant excluded income if he has or may acquire a beneficial entitlement by virtue of—

(a) an interest of his (whether or not an interest giving a right to an immediate payment of a share in the profits or gains) in property in which the whole or any part of that income is represented, or

(b) an interest of his in or other rights in relation to the non-resident company,

that is or would be attributable to that income.

(5) In the case of a transaction in relation to which the conditions in paragraph 3 are met except for the requirements of the 20% rule, this Schedule has effect as if the requirements of that rule were met in relation to so much of the chargeable profits of the non-resident company deriving from the transaction as do not represent relevant excluded income of the company to which the investment manager or a person connected with him has or has had any beneficial entitlement.