Finance Act 1975

8 Surrender, etc. of policies after four years

(1) Where a policy of life insurance to which this section applies has been issued and, in the fifth or any later year from the making of the insurance in respect of which it was issued, either of the following events happens, that is to say—

(a) the surrender of the whole or part of the rights conferred by the policy ; and

(b) the falling due (otherwise than on death or maturity) of a sum payable in pursuance of a right conferred by the policy to participate in profits;

then, if either of those events has happened before, the body by whom the policy was issued shall pay to the Board, out of the sums payable by reason of the surrender, or, as the case may be, out of the sum falling due, a sum determined in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2) The sum payable under subsection (1) above shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be equal to the applicable percentage of the lower of the following—

(a) the total of the premiums which are payable in that year under the policy; and

(b) the sums payable by reason of the surrender or, as the case may be, the sum falling due;

and the percentage to be applied for this purpose shall be a percentage equal to one half of the basic rate of income tax in force in the year of assessment in which the event happens.

(3) Where, after a sum has become payable under subsection (1) above, and within the same year from the making of the insurance, another such event happens as is mentioned therein, the sums payable under that subsection in respect of both or all of the events shall not exceed the applicable percentage of the total mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above.

(4) Where, on the happening of an event in the fifth or any later year from the making of the insurance, any sum is payable under subsection (1) of section 7 of this Act as applied by subsection (6) of that section, as well as under subsection (1) above, subsection (2) above shall apply as if the sums or sum mentioned in paragraph (b) thereof were reduced by the sum payable under section 7 of this Act.

(5) This section applies to any policy of life insurance issued in respect of an insurance made after 26th March 1974, but only if it is a qualifying policy within the meaning of Schedule 1 to the Taxes Act; but does not apply to a policy issued in the course of an industrial insurance business, as defined in section 1(2) of the [1923 c. 8.] Industrial Assurance Act 1923 or of the [1924 c. 21 (N.I.).] Industrial Assurance Act (Northern Ireland) 1924.