Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

254 Interpretation of Part VI

(1) In this Part, except where the context otherwise requires—

• “new consideration” means, subject to subsections (5) and (6) below, consideration not provided directly or indirectly out of the assets of the company, and in particular does not include amounts retained by the company by way of capitalising a distribution;

• “security” includes securities not creating or evidencing a charge on assets, and interest paid by a company on money advanced without the issue of a security for the advance, or other consideration given by a company for the use of money so advanced, shall be treated as if paid or given in respect of a security issued for the advance by the company;

• “share” includes stock, and any other interest of a member in a company;

and in this section “a 90 per cent. group” means a company and all of its 90 per cent. subsidiaries.

(2) In this Part, the expressions “in respect of shares in the company” and “in respect of securities of the company”, in relation to a company which is a member of a 90 per cent. group, mean respectively in respect of shares in that company or any other company in the group and in respect of securities of that company or any other company in the group.

(3) Without prejudice to section 209(2)(b) as extended by subsection (2) above, in relation to a company which is a member of a 90 per cent. group, “distribution” includes anything distributed out of assets of the company (whether in cash or otherwise) in respect of shares in or securities of another company in the group.

(4) Nothing in subsections (2) and (3) above shall require a company to be treated as making a distribution to any other company which is in the same group and is resident in the United Kingdom.

(5) Where share capital has been issued at a premium representing new consideration, any part of that premium afterwards applied in paying up share capital shall be treated as new consideration also for that share capital, except in so far as the premium has been taken into account under section 211(5) so as to enable a distribution to be treated as a repayment of share capital.

(6) Subject to subsection (7) below, no consideration derived from the value of any share capital or security of a company, or from voting or other rights in a company, shall be regarded for the purposes of this Part as new consideration received by the company unless the consideration consists of—

(a) money or value received from the company as a qualifying distribution;

(b) money received from the company as a payment which for those purposes constitutes a repayment of that share capital or of the principal secured by the security; or

(c) the giving up of the right to the share capital or security on its cancellation, extinguishment or acquisition by the company.

(7) No amount shall be regarded as new consideration by virtue of subsection (6)(b) or (c) above in so far as it exceeds any new consideration received by the company for the issue of the share capital or security in question or, in the case of share capital which constituted a qualifying distribution on issue, the nominal value of that share capital.

(8) Where two or more companies enter into arrangements to make distributions to each other’s members, all parties concerned (however many) may for the purposes of this Part be treated as if anything done by any one of those companies had been done by any of the others.

(9) A distribution shall be treated under this Part as made, or consideration as provided, out of assets of a company if the cost falls on the company.

(10) References in this Part to issuing share capital as paid up apply also to the paying up of any issued share capital.

(11) Where securities are issued at a price less than the amount repayable on them, and are not quoted on a recognised stock exchange, the principal secured shall not be taken for the purposes of this Part to exceed the issue price, unless the securities are issued on terms reasonably comparable with the terms of issue of securities so quoted.

(12) For the purposes of this Part a thing is to be regarded as done in respect of a share if it is done to a person as being the holder of the share, or as having at a particular time been the holder, or is done in pursuance of a right granted or offer made in respect of a share; and anything done in respect of shares by reference to share holdings at a particular time is to be regarded as done to the then holders of the shares or the personal representatives of any share holder then dead.

This subsection shall apply in relation to securities as it applies in relation to shares.