Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003

Consuls, foreign agents etc.

300 Consuls

(1) No liability to income tax arises in respect of income arising from the office of a consul in the United Kingdom in the service of a foreign state.

(2) Such income is also to be disregarded in estimating the amount of income for any income tax purposes.

(3) In this section “consul” means a person recognised by Her Majesty as being a consul-general, consul, vice-consul or consular agent.

301 Official agents

(1) No liability to income tax arises in respect of income arising from employment as an official agent in the United Kingdom for a foreign state if conditions A and B are met.

(2) Condition A is that the employee is neither—

(a) a Commonwealth citizen, nor

(b) a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

(3) Condition B is that the functions of the employment are not exercised in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking carried on for the purposes of profit.

(4) Such income is also to be disregarded in estimating the amount of income for any income tax purposes.

(5) In this section “official agent” means a person who is not a consul (as defined in section 300) but is employed on the staff of—

(a) a consulate, or

(b) an official department or agency of a foreign state.

(6) Subsection (5)(b) does not apply to a department or agency which carries on a trade, business or other undertaking for the purposes of profit.

302 Consular employees

(1) No liability to income tax arises in respect of income arising from employment in the United Kingdom as a consular employee for a foreign state if—

(a) Her Majesty by Order in Council directs that this section applies to the foreign state for the purpose of giving effect to a reciprocal arrangement with that state, and

(b) condition A or B is met.

(2) Condition A is that the employee is a national of the foreign state.

(3) Condition B is that the employee is not a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas) or a British Overseas citizen.

(4) In this section—

• “consular employee” includes any person employed for the purposes of the official business of a consular officer at—

  (a)

  any consulate,

  (b)

  any consular establishment, or

  (c)

  any other premises used for those purposes, and

• “reciprocal arrangement” means a consular convention or other arrangement with a foreign state, making similar provision to that made by this section and section 322 of ICTA in the case of Her Majesty’s consular officers or employees in that state.

(5) An Order in Council under subsection (1) may limit the operation of this section in relation to a state in any way appearing to Her Majesty necessary or expedient having regard to the arrangement with the state.

(6) Such an Order—

(a) may be made so as to have effect from a date earlier than that on which it is made, but not earlier than the arrangement in question comes into force, and

(b) may contain such transitional provisions as appear to Her Majesty necessary or expedient.

(7) A statutory instrument containing such an Order is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.

(8) This section does not affect section 301 (official agents).