Citation, commencement and interpretation1

• “the Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 F7;

• “the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992 F8;

• “aggregation” means the aggregating and treating as a single payment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 1 to the Act (Class 1 contributions; more than one employment) of two or more payments or earnings and “aggregated” shall be construed accordingly;

• “apportionment” means the apportioning under paragraph 1(7) of Schedule 1 to the Act to one or more employers of a single payment of earnings made to or for the benefit of an employed earner in respect of two or more employments, or, as the case may be, the apportioning under paragraph 1(8) of that Schedule of contribution liability between two or more employers in respect of earnings which have been aggregated under paragraph 1(1)(b) of that Schedule, and in either case “apportioning” and “apportioned” shall be construed accordingly;

• “the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, and subject to section 4A of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act 1890 F9, includes any officer or servant of theirs;

• F28“business travel” has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Schedule 12AA to the Taxes Act;

• “cash voucher” has the meaning given to it in section 143 of the Taxes Act (cash voucher taxable under PAYEF10;

• “company” means a company within the meaning of section 735 of the Companies Act 1985 F11 or a body corporate to which, by virtue of section 718 of that Act, any provision of that Act applies;

• “COMPS employment” means employment in respect of which minimum payments are made to a money purchase pension scheme contracted out under section 9(3) of the Pensions Act F12;

• “conditional interest in shares” means an interest which is conditional for the purposes of sections 140A and 140B of the Taxes Act F13;

• “contracted-out employment” has the same meaning as in section 8(1) of the Pensions Act F14;

• “contracted-out rate” means, in relation to Class 1 contributions payable in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner who is in—

  1. a

     COSRS employment, the reduced amount for the time being applying in accordance with section 41(1) to (1B) F15 of the Pensions Act (which specifies the percentage reduction of primary and secondary Class 1 contribution in respect of that part of an employed earner’s earnings which exceed the current lower earnings limit, but not the current upper earnings limit, in respect of members of a COSRS);

  2. b

     COMPS employment, the reduced amount for the time being applying in accordance with section 42A(1) to (2A) of the Pensions Act (which specifies the percentage reduction of primary and secondary Class 1 contributions in respect of that part of an employed earner’s earnings which exceed the current lower earnings limit, but not the current upper earnings limit, in respect of members of a COMPS) F16;

• “contribution week” means a period of seven days beginning with midnight between Saturday and Sunday;

• “contribution year” shall be construed in accordance with section 12(1) or (as the case requires) section 13(5) of the Act (late paid Class 2 or Class 3 contributions);

• “a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Act 1995 F17;

• “contributory benefit” includes a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance but not an income-based jobseeker’s allowance;

• “convertible shares” means shares which are convertible within the meaning of section 140D of the Taxes Act;

• “COSRS employment” means employment which qualifies an earner for a pension provided by a salary related scheme contracted out under section 9(2) of the Pensions Act F18;

• “director” means—

  1. a

     in relation to a company whose affairs are managed by a board of directors or similar body, a member of that board or similar body;

  2. b

     in relation to a company whose affairs are managed by a single director or similar person, that director or person; and

  3. c

     any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the company’s directors as defined in paragraphs (a) and (b) above are accustomed to act; and for this purpose a person is not to be treated as such a person by reason only that the directors act on advice given by him in his professional capacity;

• “due date” in Part 6 means in relation to any contribution which a person is—

  1. a

     liable to pay, the date by which payment falls to be made;

  2. b

     entitled but not liable to pay, the date 42 days after the end of the year in respect of which it is paid;

• “earnings period” means the period referred to in regulation 2;

• “earnings-related contributions” means contributions payable under the Act in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner in respect of employed earner’s employment;

• “electronic communications” includes any communications by means of a telecommunications system (within the meaning of the Telecommunications Act 1984 F19, and a means of electronic communications, or a form of such communication, is approved if it is for the time being approved by the Board;

• “an income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Act 1995;

• “income tax month” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 4;

• “month” means an income tax month;

• “national insurance number” means the national insurance number allocated within the meaning of regulation 9 of the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions, and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations 2001;

• “non-cash voucher” has the meaning given in section 141(7) of the Taxes Act;

• “non-contracted-out employment” means employed earner’s employment which is not contracted-out employment;

• “non-contracted out rate” means, in relation to Class 1 contributions payable in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner in non-contracted-out employment, the primary percentage for the time being specified in section 8(2) of the Act F20;

• “normal rate” means the amount of a Class 1 contribution which would be payable in respect of earnings paid to or for the benefit of an employed earner in any week if the employment were not contracted-out employment;

• “the Pensions Act” means the Pension Schemes Act 1993 F21;

• “profits or gains” for the purposes of Part 8 means profits or gains which, subject to the provisions of Schedule 2 to the Act, are chargeable to income tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D;

• “readily convertible asset” has the meaning given in section 203F of the Taxes Act F22 but this is subject to paragraph 128(2) of Schedule 8 to the Finance Act 2000 (approved employee share ownership plans: meaning of readily convertible asset) F23;

• “regular interval” for the purposes of regulations 3, 4 and 7 includes only such interval as is in accordance with an express or implied agreement between the employed earner and the secondary contributor as to the intervals at which payments of earnings normally fall to be made, being intervals of substantially equal length;

• “retirement benefits scheme” has the meaning given in section 611 of the Taxes Act F24;

• “Schedule E” means the Schedule so referred to in the Taxes Act;

• “secondary contributor” means the person who, in respect of earnings from employed earner’s employment, is liable to pay a second Class 1 contribution under section 6(4)(b) of the Act (liability for Class 1 contributions) F25;

• “serving member of the forces” means a person, other than one mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 6, who, being over the age of 16, is a member of any establishment or organisation specified in Part I of that Schedule (being a member who gives full pay service) but does not include any such person while absent on desertion;

• “the Taxes Act” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 F26;

• “training” means full-time training at a course approved by the Board;

• “the Transfer Act” means the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) Act 1999;

• “week” means tax week, except in relation to Case C of Part 9, where “week” and “weekly” have the meanings given in regulation 115;

• “the Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 F27;

• “year” means tax year;

• “year of assessment” has the meaning given to it in section 832(1) of the Taxes Act;