Finance Act 1995

3(1)Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, there is for the purposes of this Schedule a chargeable event in relation to any relevant shares if, after the making of the qualifying investment—

(a)the investor disposes of those shares otherwise than by way of a disposal within marriage;

(b)those shares are disposed of, otherwise than by way of a disposal to the investor, by a person who acquired them on a disposal made by the investor within marriage;

(c)there is, in a case where those shares fall within section 151B(3)(c), such an actual or deemed exchange of those shares for any non-qualifying holdings as, under section 135 or 136, requires, or but for section 116 would require, those holdings to be treated for the purposes of this Act as the same assets as those shares;

(d)the investor becomes a non-resident while holding those shares and within the relevant period;

(e)a person who acquired those shares on a disposal within marriage becomes a non-resident while holding those shares and within the relevant period;

(f)the company in which those shares are shares has its approval as a venture capital trust withdrawn in a case to which section 842AA(8) of the Taxes Act does not apply; or

(g)the relief given under Part I of Schedule 15B to the Taxes Act by reference to those shares is withdrawn or reduced in circumstances not falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (f) above.

(2)In sub-paragraph (1) above—

  • “non-qualifying holdings” means any shares or securities other than any ordinary shares (within the meaning of section 151A) in a venture capital trust; and

  • “the relevant period”, in relation to any relevant shares, means the period of five years beginning with the time when the investor made the qualifying investment by virtue of which he acquired those shares.

(3)For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above there shall not be a chargeable event by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)(d) or (e) above in relation to any shares if—

(a)the reason why the person in question becomes a non-resident is that he works in an employment or office all the duties of which are performed outside the United Kingdom, and

(b)he again becomes resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom within the period of three years from the time when he became a non-resident, without having meanwhile disposed of any of those shares;

and, accordingly, no assessment shall be made by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)(d) or (e) above before the end of that period in any case where the condition in paragraph (a) above is satisfied and the condition in paragraph (b) above may be satisfied.

(4)For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) above a person shall be taken to have disposed of any shares if and only if there has been such a disposal as would, if the person making the disposal had been resident in the United Kingdom, have been a chargeable event in relation to those shares.

(5)Where in any case—

(a)the investor or a person who has acquired any relevant shares on a disposal within marriage dies, and

(b)an event occurs at or after the time of the death which (apart from this sub-paragraph) would be a chargeable event in relation to any relevant shares held by the deceased immediately before his death,

that event shall not be chargeable event in relation to the shares so held.

(6)Without prejudice to the operation of paragraphs 4 and 5 below in a case falling within sub-paragraph (1)(f) above, the references in this paragraph to a disposal shall not include references to the disposal which by virtue of section 151B(6) is deemed to take place in such a case.