(1)A “compliance certificate” is a certificate which—
(a)is issued by the issuing company in respect of the relevant shares,
(b)states that, except so far as they fall to be met by or in relation to the investor, the requirements for EIS relief are for the time being met in relation to those shares, and
(c)is in such form as the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs may direct.
(2)Before issuing a compliance certificate in respect of the relevant shares, the issuing company must provide an officer of Revenue and Customs with a compliance statement in respect of the issue of shares which includes the relevant shares.
(3)The issuing company must not issue a compliance certificate without the authority of an officer of Revenue and Customs.
(4)If the issuing company, or a person connected with the issuing company, has given notice to an officer of Revenue and Customs under section 241 of this Act or paragraph 16(2) or (4) of Schedule 5B to TCGA 1992, a compliance certificate must not be issued unless the authority is given or renewed after the receipt of the notice.
(5)If an officer of Revenue and Customs—
(a)has been requested to give or renew an authority to issue a compliance certificate, and
(b)has decided whether or not to do so,
the officer must give notice of the officer's decision to the issuing company.
(1)A “compliance statement” is a statement, in respect of an issue of shares, to the effect that, except so far as they fall to be met by or in relation to the individuals to whom shares included in that issue have been issued, the requirements for EIS relief (see section 157)—
(a)are for the time being met in relation to the shares to which the statement relates, and
(b)have been so met at all times since the shares were issued.
(2)In determining for the purposes of subsection (1) whether the requirements for EIS relief are met at any time in relation to the issue of shares, references in this Part to “the relevant shares” are read as references to the shares included in the issue.
(3)A compliance statement must be in such form as the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs direct and must contain—
(a)such additional information as the Commissioners reasonably require, including in particular information relating to the persons who have requested the issue of compliance certificates,
(b)a declaration that the statement is correct to the best of the issuing company's knowledge and belief, and
(c)such other declarations as the Commissioners may reasonably require.
(4)The issuing company may not provide an officer of Revenue and Customs with a compliance statement in respect of any shares issued by it in any tax year—
(a)before the requirement in section 176(2) or (3) (trade etc must have been carried on for 4 months) is met, or
(b)later than two years after the end of that tax year or, if that requirement is first met after the end of that tax year, later than two years after the requirement is first met.
For the purpose of the provisions of TMA 1970 relating to appeals, the refusal of an officer of Revenue and Customs to authorise the issue of a compliance certificate is taken to be a decision disallowing a claim by the issuing company.
The issuing company is liable to a penalty not exceeding £3,000 if—
(a)it issues a compliance certificate, or provides a compliance statement, which is made fraudulently or negligently, or
(b)it issues a compliance certificate in contravention of section 204(3) or (4).