Finance Act 1994

150 Currency contracts and options

(1) A contract is a currency contract for the purposes of this Chapter if—

(a) the condition mentioned below is fulfilled, and

(b) the only transfers of money or money’s worth for which the contract provides are payments falling within subsection (2), (3), (4) or (9) or section 151 below.

(2) The condition is that under the contract a qualifying company—

(a) becomes entitled to a right and subject to a duty to receive payment at a specified time of a specified amount of one currency (the first currency), and

(b) becomes entitled to a right and subject to a duty to pay in exchange and at the same time a specified amount of another currency (the second currency).

(3) A currency contract may include provision under which the qualifying company—

(a) becomes entitled to a right to receive at a time specified in the contract a payment the amount of which falls to be determined (wholly or mainly) by applying a specified rate of interest to a specified amount of the first currency, and

(b) becomes subject to a duty to make at a time so specified a payment the amount of which falls to be determined (wholly or mainly) by applying a specified rate of interest to a specified amount of the second currency.

(4) A currency contract may also include provision under which the qualifying company—

(a) becomes entitled to a right and subject to a duty to receive payment at a specified time of a specified amount of the second currency, and

(b) becomes entitled to a right and subject to a duty to pay in exchange and at the same time a specified amount of the first currency.

(5) In subsections (3) and (4) above—

(a) any reference to a time is a reference to a time earlier than that specified in the contract for the purposes of subsection (2) above, and

(b) any reference to a specified rate of interest is a reference to a rate the value of which at any time is the same as that of the specified rate of interest.

(6) Each of the following, namely—

(a) an option to enter into a currency contract, and

(b) an option to enter into such an option,

is a currency option for the purposes of this Chapter if the only transfers of money or money’s worth for which it provides are payments falling within section 151 below.

(7) An option the exercise of which at any time would result in a qualifying company—

(a) becoming entitled to a right and subject to a duty to receive payment at that time of a specified amount of one currency, and

(b) becoming entitled to a right and subject to a duty to pay in exchange and at that time a specified amount of another currency,

is a currency option for the purposes of this Chapter if the only transfers of money or money’s worth for which it provides are payments falling within this subsection and section 151 below.

(8) Where, in the case of a contract which is subject to a condition precedent, the fulfilment of the condition at any time would result in a qualifying company becoming entitled and subject as mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (7) above, that subsection and the following provisions of this Chapter shall have effect as if—

(a) the contract before the fulfilment of the condition were such an option as is mentioned in that subsection,

(b) the fulfilment of the condition were the exercise of the option, and

(c) the contract after the fulfilment of the condition were the contract resulting from the exercise of the option.

(9) It is immaterial for the purposes of this section that the rights and duties mentioned in subsection (2), (4) or (7) above may be exercised and discharged by a payment made to or, as the case may require, by the qualifying company of an amount (in whatever currency) which, at the specified time or the time when the option is exercised, is equivalent in value to the difference between—

(a) the local currency equivalent at that time of one of the payments there mentioned, and

(b) the local currency equivalent at that time of the other of those payments.

(10) Subsection (9) above shall be read as applying equally to such of the rights and duties mentioned in subsection (3) above as fall to be exercised and discharged at the same time, and for that purpose shall have effect with such modifications as may be requisite.