Finance Act 1970

19 Conditions for approval of schemes

(1) The Board shall approve any retirement benefits scheme for the purposes of this Chapter if the scheme satisfies all of the prescribed conditions, that is to say the conditions set out in subsection (2) below, and the conditions as respects benefits in Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act.

(2) The said conditions are—

(a) that the scheme is bona fide established for the sole purpose of providing relevant benefits in respect of service as an employee (as defined in this Chapter), being benefits payable to, or to the widow, children or dependants or personal representatives of, the employee,

(b) that the scheme is recognised by the employer and employees to whom it relates, and that every employee who is, or has a right to be, a member of the scheme has been given written particulars of all essential features of the scheme which concern him,

(c) that there is a person resident in the United Kingdom who will be responsible for the discharge of all duties imposed on the administrator of the scheme under this Chapter,

(d) that the employer is a contributor to the scheme,

(e) that the scheme is established in connection with some trade or undertaking carried on in the United Kingdom by a person resident in the United Kingdom,

(f) that, where the employer is a company, no service of a person, in whatever capacity, rendered by him while he is a controlling director of the company is taken into account for any of the purposes of the scheme,

(g) that in no circumstances, whether during the subsistence of the scheme or later, can any amount be paid by way of repayment of an employee's contributions under the scheme.

(3) If in the opinion of the Board the facts concerning any scheme or its administration cease to warrant the continuance of their approval of the scheme, they may at any time by notice in writing to the administrator withdraw their approval on such grounds, and from such date, as may be specified in the notice.

(4) Where an alteration has been made in a retirement benefits scheme, the scheme shall, for the purposes of this Chapter, be deemed to have become a new scheme coming into being on the date of the alteration, and accordingly no approval given as respects the scheme before the alteration shall apply after the date of the alteration:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to an alteration approved by the Board. "

(5) For the purpose of determining whether a retirement benefits scheme, so far as it relates to a particular class or description of employees, satisfies or continues to satisfy the prescribed conditions that scheme shall be considered in conjunction with any other retirement benefits scheme or schemes relating to employees of that class or description, and, if those conditions are satisfied in the case of both or all of those schemes taken together, they shall be taken to be satisfied in the case of each of them but otherwise those conditions shall be taken to be satisfied in the case of none of them.

(6) No approval shall be given as respects any period before 6th April 1970.