Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

413 Interpretation of Chapter IV

(1) The following provisions of this section have effect for the interpretation of this Chapter.

(2) In this Chapter—

• “claimant company” has the meaning given by section 402(1);

• “consortium claim” means a claim for group relief made by virtue of section 402(3);

• “group claim” means a claim for group relief made by virtue of section 402(2);

• “group/consortium company” means a company which is both a member of a group of companies and a company owned by a consortium;

• “group relief” has the meaning given by section 402(1);

• “relevant accounting period” means an accounting period beginning after 31st July 1985; and

• “surrendering company” has the meaning given by section 402(1).

(3) For the purposes of this Chapter—

(a) two companies shall be deemed to be members of a group of companies if one is the 75 per cent. subsidiary of the other or both are 75 per cent. subsidiaries of a third company;

(b) “holding company” means a company the business of which consists wholly or mainly in the holding of shares or securities of companies which are its 90 per cent. subsidiaries and which are trading companies; and

(c) “trading company” means a company the business of which consists wholly or mainly in the carrying on of a trade or trades.

(4) In applying for the purposes of this Chapter the definition of “75 per cent. subsidiary” in section 838, any share capital of a registered industrial and provident society shall be treated as ordinary share capital.

(5) References in this Chapter to a company apply only to bodies corporate resident in the United Kingdom; and in determining for the purposes of this Chapter whether one company is a 75 per cent. subsidiary of another, the other company shall be treated as not being the owner—

(a) of any share capital which it owns directly in a body corporate if a profit on a sale of the shares would be treated as a trading receipt of its trade; or

(b) of any share capital which it owns indirectly, and which is owned directly by a body corporate for which a profit on a sale of the shares would be a trading receipt; or

(c) of any share capital which it owns directly or indirectly in a body corporate not resident in the United Kingdom.

(6) References to a company being owned by a consortium shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (a) below except for the purposes of the definition of “group/consortium company” in subsection (2) above and of sections 403(10), 406(1)(b) and 409(5), (6) and (7), and for those purposes shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (b) below—

(a) a company is owned by a consortium if three-quarters or more of the ordinary share capital of the company is beneficially owned between them by companies of which none beneficially owns less than one-twentieth of that capital;

(b) a company is owned by a consortium if—

(i) it is either such a trading company as is referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3) of section 402 or such a holding company as is referred to in paragraph (c) of that subsection, and

(ii) three-quarters or more of the ordinary share capital of the company or, in the case of a company within section 402(3)(b), of its holding company is beneficially owned between them by companies of which none beneficially owns less than one-twentieth of that capital;

and the companies which so own three-quarters or more of that ordinary share capital are in this Chapter called the members of the consortium.

(7) Notwithstanding that at any time a company (“the subsidiary company”) is a 75 per cent. subsidiary or a 90 per cent. subsidiary of another company (“the parent company”) it shall not be treated at that time as such a subsidiary for the purposes of this Chapter unless, additionally at that time—

(a) the parent company is beneficially entitled to not less than 75 per cent. or, as the case may be, 90 per cent. of any profits available for distribution to equity holders of the subsidiary company; and

(b) the parent company would be beneficially entitled to not less than 75 per cent. or, as the case may be, 90 per cent. of any assets of the subsidiary company available for distribution to its equity holders on a winding-up.

(8) Subject to subsection (9) below, for the purposes of this Chapter, a member’s share in a consortium, in relation to an accounting period of the surrendering company, shall be whichever is the lowest in that period of the following percentages, namely—

(a) the percentage of the ordinary share capital of the surrendering or claimant company which is beneficially owned by that member;

(b) the percentage to which that member is beneficially entitled of any profits available for distribution to equity holders of the surrendering or claimant company; and

(c) the percentage to which that member would be beneficially entitled of any assets of the surrendering or claimant company available for distribution to its equity holders on a winding-up;

and if any of those percentages have fluctuated in that accounting period, the average percentage over the period shall be taken for the purposes of this subsection.

(9) In any case where the surrendering or claimant company is a subsidiary of a holding company which is owned by a consortium, for references in subsection (8) above to the surrendering or claimant company there shall be substituted references to the holding company.

(10) Schedule 18 shall have effect for supplementing this section.