Section 521: Approved CSOP Schemes
2120.This section sets out what is contained in this Chapter and in Schedule 4 to this Act. It sets the scene: CSOP is a scheme which requires prior approval by the Inland Revenue and which enables the option-holder to benefit from income tax relief. There is also provision here for amounts to count as employment income in certain circumstances.
2121.There are references in the CSOP code in several places to the Inland Revenue, where the relevant provisions in ICTA referred to the Board. This reflects practice and is in line with the approach in FA 2000 to EMI and SIP codes. The Inland Revenue is defined in section 720 as “any officer of the Board of Inland Revenue”. See Change 158 in Annex 1.
2122.In subsection (3)(c) there is a cross-reference to Part 3 of Schedule 7D to TCGA 1992 which covers the capital gains tax angle (see Schedule 6 to this Act).
2123.Share options are described as being granted rather than obtained in most contexts and especially where the timing of the grant is significant. This ties in with the terminology in EMI and perhaps gives a clearer indication of the exact date of the occasion.
2124.The definitions derive from section 187 of ICTA. There are minor definitions and a new index of defined expressions, at the end of Schedule 4 to this Act. This is based on the approach in the tax-relieved share schemes, introduced by FA 2000. The definition of “share option” matches the one used for EMI in FA 2000 (and in the EMI code). There is for the first time a definition of the CSOP scheme in section 521.
