The Overseas Life Insurance Companies (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2007

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 156 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (c. 1: “ICTA 1988”) provides that the enactments relating to corporation tax have effect in relation to overseas life insurance companies subject to such modifications and exceptions as may be prescribed by the Treasury.

These Regulations amend the regulations making such modifications, the Overseas Life Insurance Companies Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/3271: “the principal Regulations”).

Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and effect.

Regulation 2 introduces the amendments to the principal Regulations. The remaining regulations amend the principal Regulations so as to make technical modifications to the enactments relating to corporation tax. The main purpose of most of these modifications is to deal with the possibility of the technical account included in IAD accounts (i.e. accounts drawn up in accordance with Council Directive No. 91/674/EEC) for non-life-insurance business being used by a company for all its business, including life assurance business.

Regulations 3 to 6 amend regulations of the principal Regulations which modify provisions of ICTA 1988.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 5 of the principal Regulations which modifies section 76 (expenses of insurance companies).

Regulation 4 amends regulation 6 of the principal Regulations which modifies section 431(2) (interpretative provisions relating to insurance companies). The amended modifications also reflect amendments recently made to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) in consequence of the implementation of Council Directive No. 2005/68/EC on reinsurance.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 11 of the principal Regulations which modifies section 440 (transfers of assets etc). The amended modifications deal specifically with the tax treatment where goodwill is acquired by an EEA firm or a Treaty firm as a result of an insurance business transfer scheme.

Regulation 6 substitutes new regulations 15 and 15A for regulation 15 of the principal Regulations. The new regulations 15 and 15A modify respectively sections 444AC (transfers of business: excess of assets or liabilities) and 444AD (transfers of business: modification of s 83(2B) FA 1989) in order to replace references to UK regulatory returns which overseas life insurance companies do not make.

Regulations 7 and 8 amend regulations 24 and 26 of the principal Regulations which modify respectively sections 83A (meaning of “brought into account”) and 89 (policy holders’ share of profits) of the Finance Act 1989 (c. 26).

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.