Social Security Contributions (Share Options) Act 2001

1 Notices relating to share options acquired before 19th May 2000 U.K.

(1) Where—

(a) a right to acquire shares in a body corporate was obtained by any person in the period beginning with 6th April 1999 and ending with 19th May 2000,

(b) that right is one to which subsection (2) applies,

(c) a notice in respect of that right is given in accordance with the following provisions of this section to the Inland Revenue before the end of the period of ninety-two days beginning with the day on which this Act is passed,

liability to contributions in respect of gains realised after 7th November 2000 on the exercise, assignment or release of that right shall be determined in accordance with section 2.

(2) This subsection applies to a right obtained by any person in the period mentioned in subsection (1)(a) if—

(a) were a gain to be realised after the passing of this Act on the exercise, assignment or release of that right, the gain would or (if circumstances changed) might be one falling, by virtue of section 4(4)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act, to be treated for the purposes of that Act as remuneration derived from that person’s employment; or

(b) a gain that has been realised after 7th November 2000 and before the passing of this Act on any exercise, assignment or release of that right has fallen, by virtue of section 4(4)(a) of that Act, to be so treated.

(3) The person who may give a notice under this section in respect of any right to which subsection (2) applies by virtue of paragraph (a) of that subsection is—

(a) where neither of the following paragraphs apply, the person who would be the secondary contributor in relation to any liability to pay secondary Class 1 contributions in respect of a gain realised on an exercise, assignment or release, of that right on the day of the notice;

(b) where an election for the purposes of paragraph 3B(1) of Schedule 1 to the Contributions and Benefits Act which is in force on the day of the notice would relate to the whole of any such gain—

(i) the person on whom (apart from this Act) any such liability would fall by virtue of the election; or

(ii) the secondary contributor on whom (apart from this Act) any such liability would fall were no election in force;

(c) where an election for the purposes of paragraph 3B(1) of that Schedule which is in force on the day of the notice would relate to only a part of any such gain, the persons mentioned in paragraph (b)(i) and (ii), acting jointly.

(4) The person who may give a notice under this section in respect of any right to which subsection (2) applies by virtue of paragraph (b) of that subsection is—

(a) the person on whom (apart from this Act) the liability for secondary Class 1 contributions payable in respect of the gain mentioned in that paragraph did fall; and

(b) if different parts of that liability fell (apart from this Act) on different persons, those persons acting jointly.

(5) A notice under this section in respect of any right—

(a) must be given in writing or by such electronic means as may be authorised by regulations made by the Inland Revenue;

(b) must contain such matters and be in such form as may be required by any such regulations; and

(c) once given, shall be irrevocable.

(6) For the purposes of this Act where, in the case of any right to acquire shares, the person entitled or (if there is more than one) each of the persons entitled to give a notice under this section in respect of that right is a person whose liability by virtue of the giving of such a notice to pay a special contribution under section 2 in respect of that right would be nil, that person or, as the case may be, each of those persons acting jointly shall be deemed—

(a) to have given such a notice in respect of that right in accordance with this section and immediately before the end of the period specified in subsection (1)(c);

(b) to have accompanied that notice with a notification to the Inland Revenue that the liability arising by virtue of that notice was nil; and

(c) to have given that notification in the belief that the facts reasonably ascertainable by him at the time at which he is deemed to have given it were grounds for giving it.