Finance Act 2015

Treating persons as meeting a threshold condition

2 (1) Section 237 (duty to give conduct notice) is amended as follows.

(2) After subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) Subsections (5) to (9) also apply if an authorised officer becomes aware at any time (“the relevant time”) that—

(a) a person has, in the period of 3 years ending with the relevant time, met one or more threshold conditions,

(b) at the relevant time another person (“P”) meets one or more of those conditions by virtue of Part 2 of Schedule 34 (meeting the threshold conditions: bodies corporate and partnerships), and

(c) P is, at the relevant time, carrying on a business as a promoter.”

(3) In subsection (3), for the words from “the” to the end substitute “when a person is treated as meeting a threshold condition”.

(4) For subsection (5) substitute—

“(5) The authorised officer must determine—

(a) in a case within subsection (1), whether or not P’s meeting of the condition mentioned in subsection (1)(a) (or, if more than one condition is met, the meeting of all of those conditions, taken together) should be regarded as significant in view of the purposes of this Part, or

(b) in a case within subsection (1A), whether or not—

(i) the meeting of the condition by the person as mentioned in subsection (1A)(a) (or, if more than one condition is met, the meeting of all of those conditions, taken together), and

(ii) P’s meeting of the condition (or conditions) as mentioned in subsection (1A)(b),

should be regarded as significant in view of those purposes.”

(5) In subsection (7), for “subsection (5)” substitute “subsection (5)(a)”.

(6) After subsection (7) insert—

“(7A) If the authorised officer determines under subsection (5)(b) that both—

(a) the meeting of the condition or conditions by the person as mentioned in subsection (1A)(a), and

(b) P’s meeting of the condition or conditions as mentioned in subsection (1A)(b),

should be regarded as significant, the officer must give P a conduct notice, unless subsection (8) applies.”

(7) In subsection (9), omit “mentioned in subsection (1)(a)”.

(8) After subsection (9) insert—

“(10) If, as a result of subsection (1A), subsections (5) to (9) apply to a person, this does not prevent the giving of a conduct notice to the person mentioned in subsection (1A)(a).”