Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

813 Recovery of tax credits incorrectly paid

(1) Where—

(a) section 812 applies so as to withdraw the entitlement of a company to claim to have a tax credit in respect of a qualifying distribution set against the income tax chargeable on its income and to have the excess of the credit over that income tax paid to it; and

(b) the company (“the recipient company”) has either had that excess paid to it, or has received an additional amount in accordance with arrangements made under Regulation 2(1) of the [S.I. 1973/317.] Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (General) (Dividend) Regulations 1973;

the recipient company shall be liable to a fine for the violation of the provisions of section 812 equal to twice the amount of the excess or the additional amount, as the case may be.

(2) Any fine payable under subsection (1) above—

(a) shall be payable to the Board;

(b) shall be treated as having become payable at the date when the excess or additional amount was paid to the recipient company; and

(c) may be recovered in accordance with subsections (3) to (7) below;

and any such fine is referred to below as “the recoverable amount”.

(3) The recoverable amount may be assessed and recovered as if it were unpaid tax and section 30 of the Management Act (recovery of overpayment of tax etc.) shall apply accordingly.

(4) Any amount which may be assessed and recovered as if it were unpaid tax by virtue of this section shall carry interest at the rate of 9 per cent. per annum from the date when it was payable in accordance with subsection (1) above until the date it is paid.

(5) It is hereby declared that this section applies to a recoverable amount which is paid without the making of an assessment (but is paid after it is due) and that, where the recoverable amount is charged by any assessment (whether or not any part of it has been paid when the assessment is made), this section applies in relation to interest running before, as well as after, the making of the assessment.

(6) Where the recoverable amount is not paid by the recipient company within six months from the date on which it became payable—

(a) the recoverable amount may at any time within six years from the date on which it became payable be assessed and recovered as if it were unpaid tax due from any person who—

(i) is or was at any time prior to the expiration of that six year period connected with the recipient company, or

(ii) would have been connected on the assumption that all the facts and circumstances relating to the recipient company at the time the excess or additional amount, as the case may be, was paid continued to apply for six years thereafter,

and section 30 of the Management Act shall apply accordingly; and

(b) as respects its accounting periods beginning with that in which the excess or additional amount referred to in subsection (1) above was paid and ending with that following that in which the recoverable amount is paid in accordance with the provisions of this section, the company which made the qualifying distribution in respect of which the recipient company received the excess or additional amount shall not be entitled—

(i) to set any advance corporation tax paid by it against its liability to corporation tax for such periods in accordance with section 239; nor

(ii) to surrender the benefit of the whole or any part of any amount of advance corporation tax to a subsidiary in accordance with section 240 in such periods.

(7) Where a recoverable amount is assessed and recovered from a person connected with the recipient company in accordance with subsection (6)(a) above, that person shall be liable for the interest payable in accordance with subsection (4) above, and until the interest is so paid, subsection (6)(b) above shall apply as if the words “the interest due in accordance with subsection (4) above is paid” were substituted for the words “the recoverable amount is paid in accordance with the provisions of this section”.

(8) Interest payable under this section shall be paid without any deduction of income tax and shall not be allowed as a deduction in computing any income, profits or losses for any tax purposes.

(9) Where under the law in force in a territory outside the United Kingdom interest is payable subject to a deduction in respect of taxation and such deduction applies to an amount of interest paid in accordance with subsection (4) above, the reference to the rate of 9 per cent. per annum in that subsection shall be deemed to be a reference to such rate of interest as after such deduction shall be equal to the rate of 9 per cent. per annum.