Finance Act 1981

PART I The Base Period and Chargeable Deposits

The base period

1 (1) The base period for the purposes of section 134 of this Act (" the principal section ") is the last quarter of 1980 ; and the average chargeable deposits held by a person in that period shall be determined by—

(a) aggregating the chargeable deposits held by him at the close of business on 15th October, 19th November and 10th December 1980; and

(b) dividing the result by three.

(2) Where a person regularly prepares statistics of the deposits held by him as at the close of business on a particular day in each month and the day in October, November or December 1980 is not that mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a) above, the Board may, on the application of that person, direct that for any of those days there shall be substituted the day in the month in question for which that person has prepared the statistics.

(3) Any time at which the amount of the chargeable deposits held by a person falls to be ascertained by virtue of this paragraph is in this Schedule referred to as a material time.

Chargeable deposits

2 For the purposes of the principal section and this Schedule a deposit is any sum of money paid to a person carrying on a banking business (" a deposit-taker ") on terms—

(a) under which it will be repaid either on demand or at a time or in circumstances agreed by or on behalf of the person who paid the sum and the deposit-taker ; and

(b) which are not, within the meaning of subsection (6) of section 1 of the [1979 c. 37.] Banking Act 1979, referable to the provision of property or services or to the giving of security.

3 (1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, a deposit is a chargeable deposit at a material time if it is then held on terms under which it does not carry interest or a premium.

(2) The following are not chargeable deposits—

(a) any deposit not denominated in sterling ;

(b) any deposit paid to the deposit-taker by a company if at the material time the deposit-taker is a subsidiary of that company, or that company is a subsidiary of the deposit-taker, or both are subsidiaries of another company ;

(c) where the deposit-taker is resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of income or corporation tax, any deposit which at the material time is held at a branch of his situated outside the United Kingdom ;

(d) where the deposit-taker is not so resident, any deposit which at that time is held otherwise than at a branch of his situated in the United Kingdom.

(3) In sub-paragraph (1) above the reference to interest or a premium shall not be construed as including any allowance made by the deposit-taker in calculating whether any, and if so what, bank or other charges are to be made by him to the person making the deposit.

(4) In sub-paragraph (2)(b) above " subsidiary " shall be construed in accordance with section 154 of the [1948 c. 38.] Companies Act 1948 or section 148 of the [1960 c. 22 (N.I.).] Companies Act (Northern Ireland) 1960.

(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(c) and (d) above a deposit is held at a branch of a deposit-taker if it is recorded in his books as a liability of that branch.

4 (1) Where any amount of the chargeable deposits held by a deposit-taker at a material time consists of the credit balance or balances on one or more accounts which the deposit-taker treats as reducing or extinguishing the amount on which he is entitled to interest in respect of the debit balance or balances on one or more other accounts held with him at that time, that amount of chargeable deposits shall be treated as equal to its excess, if any, over that other amount.

(2) This paragraph applies only if the other account or accounts are denominated in sterling.

5 (1) The amount of chargeable deposits held by a deposit-taker at any material time shall be treated as—

(a) reduced by an amount equal to 60 per cent, of any sum which has been credited in his books to an account held with him (whether or not an account the balance on which constitutes a chargeable deposit) by reference to a cheque or other authority which is then in course of collection by him ; and

(b) increased by an amount equal to 60 per cent, of any sum which has been debited in his books to such an account by reference to a standing order or other authority which is then in course of transmission by him.

(2) In this paragraph " sum" means a sum denominated in sterling.

6 Where a person was carrying on a banking business at any time in the last quarter of 1980 but was not carrying on such a business on 10th March 1981, then, if his business was, after the first of the material times and before that date, transferred to another person who was carrying on such a business on that date, the principal section and this Schedule shall have effect as if any chargeable deposits held by the first-mentioned person at any material time had then been held by the other person.