Finance Act 1996

Section 98.

SCHEDULE 10 Loan relationships: collective investment schemes

Investment trusts

1 (1) This paragraph applies for the purposes of the application of this Chapter in relation to investment trusts and venture capital trusts.

(2) If the Treasury by order approve the use of an accounting method for the creditor relationships of investment trusts or venture capital trusts—

(a) that method, instead of any method for which section 85 of this Act provides, shall be used as respects the creditor relationships of the trusts for which it is approved; and

(b) this Chapter shall have effect (subject to the provisions of the order) as if the accounting method were, for the purposes for which it is approved, an authorised accruals basis of accounting.

(3) Where an approval is given under this paragraph, it must be an approval of one of the following—

(a) the use of an accruals basis of accounting appearing to the Treasury to be recognised by normal accounting practice for use in the case of investment trusts;

(b) the use, with such modifications as may be provided for in the order, of an accruals basis of accounting appearing to them to be so recognised; or

(c) the use, with such modifications as may be so provided for, of an accounting method which, apart from the order, would be an authorised accruals basis of accounting.

(4) An order under this paragraph may provide for any approval of the use (with or without modifications) of a basis of accounting recognised by normal accounting practice to have effect in relation to accounting periods beginning before the time as from which the use of that method is recognised and before the making of the order.

Authorised unit trusts

2 (1) The provisions of this Chapter so far as they relate to the creditor relationships of a company shall not apply for the purposes of corporation tax in computing the profits or losses of an authorised unit trust.

(2) For the purposes of corporation tax the profits and gains, and losses, that are to be taken to arise from the creditor relationships of an authorised unit trust shall be computed—

(a) in accordance with the provisions applicable, in the case of unauthorised unit trusts, for the purposes of income tax; and

(b) as if the provisions so applicable had effect in relation to an accounting period of an authorised unit trust as they have effect, in the case of unauthorised unit trusts, in relation to a year of assessment.

(3) In relation to the first accounting period of any authorised unit trust to end after 31st March 1996, the reference in sub-paragraph (2)(a) above to the provisions applicable for the purposes of income tax is a reference to the provisions so applicable for the year 1996-97.

(4) In this paragraph “unauthorised unit trust” means the trustees of any unit trust scheme which is not an authorised unit trust but is a unit trust scheme for the purposes of section 469 of the Taxes Act 1988.

Distributing offshore funds

3 For the purposes of paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 27 to the Taxes Act 1988 (computation of UK equivalent profit), the assumptions to be made in determining what, for any period, would be the total profits of an offshore fund are to include an assumption that paragraph 2 above applies in the case of that offshore fund as it applies in the case of any authorised unit trust.

Company holdings in unit trusts and offshore funds

4 (1) This paragraph applies for the purposes of corporation tax in relation to any company where—

(a) at any time in an accounting period that company holds any of the following (“a relevant holding”), that is to say, any rights under a unit trust scheme or any relevant interests in an offshore fund; and

(b) there is a time in that period when that scheme or fund fails to satisfy the non-qualifying investments test.

(2) The Corporation Tax Acts shall have effect for that accounting period in accordance with sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) below as if the relevant holding were rights under a creditor relationship of the company.

(3) An accruals basis of accounting shall not be used for the purposes of this Chapter as respects the company’s relevant holdings.

(4) The authorised mark to market basis of accounting used for any accounting period as respects a relevant holding shall not be taken, for the purposes of this Chapter, to require the bringing into account of any credit relating to any distributions of an authorised unit trust which become due and payable in that period other than interest distributions within the meaning of section 468L(3) of the Taxes Act 1988.

Holding becoming or ceasing to be paragraph 4 holding

5 (1) Section 116 of the 1992 Act (reorganisations etc. involving qualifying corporate bonds) shall have effect in accordance with the assumptions for which this paragraph provides if—

(a) a relevant holding is held by a company both at the end of one accounting period and at the beginning of the next; and

(b) paragraph 4 above applies to that holding for one of those periods but not for the other.

(2) Where—

(a) the accounting period for which paragraph 4 above applies to the relevant holding is the second of the periods mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above, and

(b) the first of those periods is not a period ending on 31st March 1996 or a period at the end of which there is deemed under section 212 of the 1992 Act to have been a disposal of the relevant holding,

the holding shall be assumed to have become a holding to which paragraph 4 above applies for the second of those periods in consequence of the occurrence, at the end of the first period, of a transaction such as is mentioned in section 116(1) of that Act.

(3) In relation to the transaction that is deemed to have occurred as mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) above—

(a) the relevant holding immediately before the beginning of the second accounting period shall be assumed to be the old asset for the purposes of section 116 of the 1992 Act; and

(b) the relevant holding immediately after the beginning of that period shall be assumed for those purposes to be the new asset.

(4) Where the accounting period for which paragraph 4 above applies to the relevant holding is the first of the periods mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above, then, for the purposes of the 1992 Act—

(a) the holding shall be assumed to have become a holding to which paragraph 4 above does not apply for the second of those periods in consequence of the occurrence at the beginning of the second of those periods of a transaction such as is mentioned in section 116(1) of that Act;

(b) the relevant holding immediately before the beginning of that second period shall be assumed, in relation to that transaction, to be the old asset for the purposes of section 116 of the 1992 Act; and

(c) the relevant holding immediately after the beginning of that period shall be assumed, in relation to that transaction, to be the new asset for those purposes.

(5) In this paragraph “the 1992 Act” means the [1992 c. 12.] Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992.

Opening valuation of paragraph 4 holding

6 Where—

(a) paragraph 5(2) above applies in the case of any relevant holding of a company, and

(b) for the purpose of bringing amounts into account for the purposes of this Chapter on the mark to market basis used for that period in pursuance of paragraph 4 above, an opening valuation of the holding falls to be made as at the beginning of that period,

the value of that asset at the beginning of that period shall be taken for the purpose of the opening valuation to be equal to whatever, in relation to a disposal immediately before the end of the previous accounting period, would have been taken to be the market value of the holding for the purposes of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992.

Meaning of offshore funds

7 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 4 above an interest is a relevant interest in an offshore fund if—

(a) it is a material interest in an offshore fund for the purposes of Chapter V of Part XVII of the Taxes Act 1988; or

(b) it would be such an interest if the assumption mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) below were made.

(2) That assumption is that the unit trust schemes and arrangements referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of section 759 of the Taxes Act 1988 are not limited to those which are also collective investment schemes.

Non-qualifying investments test

8 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 4 above a unit trust scheme or offshore fund fails to satisfy the non-qualifying investments test at any time when the market value of the qualifying investments exceeds 60 per cent. of the market value of all the investments of the scheme or fund.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (8) below, in this paragraph “qualifying investments”, in relation to a unit trust scheme or offshore fund, means investments of the scheme or fund which are of any of the following descriptions—

(a) money placed at interest;

(b) securities;

(c) shares in a building society;

(d) qualifying holdings in a unit trust scheme or an offshore fund.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) above a holding in a unit trust scheme or offshore fund is a qualifying holding at any time if—

(a) at that time, or

(b) at any other time in the same accounting period,

that scheme or fund would itself fail (even on the relevant assumption) to satisfy the non-qualifying investments test.

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) above the relevant assumption is that investments of the scheme or fund are qualifying investments in relation to that scheme or fund only if they fall within paragraphs (a) to (c) of sub-paragraph (2) above.

(5) References in this paragraph to investments of a unit trust scheme or offshore fund are references, as the case may be—

(a) to investments subject to the trusts of the scheme, or

(b) to assets of the fund,

but in neither case do they include references to cash awaiting investment.

(6) References in this paragraph to a holding—

(a) in relation to a unit trust scheme, are references to an entitlement to a share in the investments of the scheme; and

(b) in relation to an offshore fund, are references to shares in any company by which that fund is constituted or any entitlement to a share in the investments of the fund.

(7) In this paragraph “security” does not include shares in a company.

(8) The Treasury may by order amend this paragraph so as to extend or restrict the descriptions of investments of a unit trust scheme or offshore fund that are qualifying investments for the purposes of this paragraph.

Powers to make orders

9 (1) An order made by the Treasury under any provision of this Schedule may—

(a) make different provision for different cases; and

(b) contain such incidental, supplemental, consequential and transitional provision as the Treasury may think fit.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (1) above, an order under paragraph 8(8) above may make such incidental modifications of paragraph 8(4) above as the Treasury may think fit.