Part 15Film production

Chapter 3Film tax relief

Miscellaneous

1204No account to be taken of amount if unpaid

(1)

In determining for the purposes of this Chapter the amount of costs incurred on a film at the end of a period of account, ignore any amount that has not been paid 4 months after the end of that period.

(2)

This is without prejudice to the operation of section 1192.

1205Artificially inflated claims for additional deduction or film tax credit

(1)

So far as a transaction is attributable to arrangements entered into wholly or mainly for a disqualifying purpose, it is to be ignored in determining for any period—

(a)

any additional deduction which a company may make under this Chapter, and

(b)

any film tax credit to be given to a company.

(2)

Arrangements are entered into wholly or mainly for a disqualifying purpose if their main object, or one of their main objects, is to enable a company to obtain—

(a)

an additional deduction under this Chapter to which it would not otherwise be entitled or of a greater amount than that to which it would otherwise be entitled, or

(b)

a film tax credit to which it would not otherwise be entitled or of a greater amount than that to which it would otherwise be entitled.

(3)

“Arrangements” includes any scheme, agreement or understanding, whether or not legally enforceable.

1206Confidentiality of information

(1)

Section 18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c. 11) (restriction on disclosure by Revenue and Customs officials) does not prevent disclosure to the Secretary of State for the purposes of the Secretary of State’s functions under Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985 (c. 21) (certification of films as British films for the purposes of film tax relief).

(2)

Information so disclosed may be disclosed to the UK Film Council.

(3)

A person to whom information is disclosed under subsection (1) or (2) may not otherwise disclose it except—

(a)

for the purposes of the Secretary of State’s functions under Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985,

(b)

if the disclosure is authorised by an enactment,

(c)

in pursuance of an order of a court,

(d)

for the purposes of a criminal investigation or legal proceedings (whether criminal or civil) connected with the operation of that Schedule or this Part,

(e)

with the consent of the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, or

(f)

with the consent of each person to whom the information relates.

1207Wrongful disclosure

(1)

A person (“X”) commits an offence if—

(a)

X discloses revenue and customs information relating to a person (as defined in section 19(2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c. 11)),

(b)

the identity of the person to whom the information relates is specified in the disclosure or can be deduced from it, and

(c)

the disclosure contravenes section 1206(3) above.

(2)

If a person (“Y”) is charged with an offence under subsection (1), it is a defence for Y to prove that Y reasonably believed—

(a)

that the disclosure was lawful, or

(b)

that the information had already and lawfully been made available to the public.

(3)

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a)

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both, or

(b)

on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

(4)

A prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) may be brought in England and Wales only—

(a)

by the Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions, or

(b)

with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(5)

A prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) may be brought in Northern Ireland only—

(a)

by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, or

(b)

with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(6)

In the application of this section—

(a)

in England and Wales, in relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 282 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), or

(b)

in Northern Ireland,

the reference in subsection (3)(b) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.