Finance Act 1995

90 Relief for post-cessation expenditure. U.K.

(1) In Chapter VI of Part IV of the Taxes Act 1988 (provisions relating to the Schedule D charge: discontinuance, &c.), after section 109 insert—

“ Relief for post-cessation expenditure U.K.

109A Relief for post-cessation expenditure.

(1) Where in connection with a trade, profession or vocation formerly carried on by him which has been permanently discontinued a person makes, within seven years of the discontinuance, a payment to which this section applies, he may, by notice given within twelve months from the 31st January next following the year of assessment in which the payment is made, claim relief from income tax on an amount of his income for that year equal to the amount of the payment.

(2) This section applies to payments made wholly and exclusively—

(a) in remedying defective work done, goods supplied or services rendered in the course of the former trade, profession or vocation or by way of damages (whether awarded or agreed) in respect of any such defective work, goods or services; or

(b) in defraying the expenses of legal or other professional services in connection with any claim that work done, goods supplied or services rendered in the course of the former trade, profession or vocation was or were defective;

(c) in insuring against any liabilities arising out of any such claim or against the incurring of such expenses; or

(d) for the purpose of collecting a debt taken into account in computing the profits or gains of the former trade, profession or vocation.

(3) Where a payment of any of the above descriptions is made in circumstances such that relief under this section is available, the following shall be treated as sums to which section 103 applies (whether or not they would be so treated apart from this subsection)—

(a) in the case of a payment within paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) above, any sum received, by way of the proceeds of insurance or otherwise, for the purpose of enabling the payment to be made or by means of which it is reimbursed,

(b) in the case of a payment within paragraph (c) of that subsection, any sum (not falling within paragraph (a) above) received by way of refund of premium or otherwise in connection with the insurance, and

(c) in the case of a payment within paragraph (d) of that subsection, any sum received to meet the costs of collecting the debt;

and no deduction shall be made under section 105 in respect of any such sums.

Where such a sum is received in a year of assessment earlier than that in which the related payment is made, it shall be treated as having been received in that later year and not in the earlier year; and any such adjustment shall be made, by way of modification of any assessment or discharge or repayment of tax, as is required to give effect to this subsection.

(4) Where a trade, profession or vocation carried on by a person has been permanently discontinued and subsequently an unpaid debt which was taken into account in computing the profits or gains of that trade, profession or vocation and to the benefit of which he is entitled—

(a) is proved to be bad, or

(b) is released, in whole or in part, as part of a relevant arrangement or compromise (within the meaning of section 74),

he shall be treated as making a payment to which this section applies of an amount equal to the amount of the debt or, as the case may be, the amount released or, if he was entitled to only part of the benefit of the debt, to an appropriate proportion of that amount.

If any sum is subsequently received by him in payment of a debt for which relief has been given by virtue of this subsection, the sum shall be treated as one to which section 103 applies; and no deduction shall be made under section 105 in respect of any such sum.

(5) Where in the case of a trade, profession or vocation which has subsequently been permanently discontinued a deduction was made in computing the profits or losses of the trade, profession or vocation in respect of an expense not actually paid (an “unpaid expense”), then—

(a) if relief under this section in connection with that trade, profession or vocation is claimed in respect of any year of assessment, the amount of the relief shall be reduced by the amount of any unpaid expenses at the end of that year;

(b) for the purposes of the application of paragraph (a) above in relation to a subsequent year of assessment, any amount by which relief under this section has been reduced by virtue of that paragraph shall be treated as having been paid in respect of the expense in question; and

(c) if subsequently any amount is in fact paid in respect of an expense in respect of which a reduction has been made under paragraph (a), that amount (or, if less, the amount of the reduction) shall be treated as a payment to which this section applies.

(6) Relief shall not be given under this section in respect of an amount for which relief has been given or is available under any other provision of the Income Tax Acts.

In applying this subsection relief available under section 105 shall be treated as given in respect of other amounts before any amount in respect of which relief is available under this section.

(7) This section does not apply for the purposes of corporation tax.”.

(2) Section 109A(1) of the Taxes Act 1988 (inserted by subsection (1) above) has effect as respects the years 1994-95 and 1995-96 with the substitution for the words “twelve months from the 31st January next following” of the words “ two years after ”.

(3) In section 110(1) of the Taxes Act 1988 (interpretation, &c.) for “sections 103 to 109” substitute “ sections 103 to 109A ”.

(4) Where under section 109A of the Taxes Act 1988 (inserted by subsection (1) above) a person makes a claim for relief for a year of assessment in respect of an amount which is available for relief under that section, he may in the notice by which the claim is made make a claim to have so much of that amount as cannot be set off against his income for the year (the “excess relief”) treated for the purposes of capital gains tax as an allowable loss accruing to him in that year.

(5) No relief shall be available by virtue of subsection (4) above in respect of so much of the excess relief as exceeds the amount on which the claimant would be chargeable to capital gains tax for that year if the following (and the effect of that subsection) were disregarded—

(a) any allowable losses falling to be carried forward to that year from a previous year for the purposes of section 2(2) of the M1 Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992;

(b) section 3(1) of that Act (the annual exempt amount); and

(c) any relief against capital gains tax under section 72 of the M2 Finance Act 1991 (deduction of trading losses).

(6) In section 105(2) of the Taxes Act 1988 (deductions allowed against post-cessation receipts: exclusion of amounts allowed elsewhere), after “any other provision of the Tax Acts” insert “ or by virtue of section 90(4) of the Finance Act 1995 ”.

(7) This section has effect in relation to payments made or treated as made (see subsection (4) of section 109A of the Taxes Act 1988 inserted by subsection (1) above) on or after 29th November 1994.

Marginal Citations

M1 1992 c. 12.

M2 1991 c. 31.