2015 No. 866

Capital Gains Tax
Income Tax
Inheritance Tax

The Offshore Asset Moves Penalty (Specified Territories) Regulations 2015

Made

Coming into force

Laid before the House of Commons

The Treasury make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 4(5) of Schedule 21 to the Finance Act 20151.

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Offshore Asset Moves Penalty (Specified Territories) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 27th March 2015.

Territories specified2

The territories listed in the Schedule to these Regulations are specified for the purposes of Schedule 21 to the Finance Act 2015.

David EvennettGavin BarwellTwo of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

SCHEDULE

Regulation 2

Territories specified

Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Korea (South), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montserrat, Netherlands (including Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) New Zealand (not including Tokelau), Niue, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, United States of America (not including overseas territories and possessions), Uruguay.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations specify the territories for the purposes of determining whether a “relevant offshore asset move” described in paragraph 4 of Schedule 21 to the Finance Act 2015 (c. 11) (“the Schedule”) has occurred. Under the Schedule, a person becomes liable to a penalty if there is “relevant offshore asset move” after the relevant time (determined in accordance with paragraph 5 of the Schedule) if the purpose or one of the main purposes of the move is to prevent or delay the discovery by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs of a potential loss of income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax for which that person is liable for the penalties specified in paragraph 2 of the Schedule in respect of a “deliberate failure” (see paragraph 3 of the Schedule).

A “relevant offshore asset move” occurs upon the happening of any of the three events set out in paragraph 4(1) of the Schedule at the time when the person concerned beneficially owns the asset in question and remains its beneficial owner immediately after. One of the cases occurs where an asset ceases to be situated or held in a specified territory and becomes situated or held in a non-specified territory. Another case occurs where the person who holds the asset ceases to be resident in a specified territory and becomes resident in a non-specified territory. Any territory not specified by Regulations falls as a “non-specified territory” for these purposes.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument was published on 10th December 2014 alongside the draft Finance Bill and is available on the HMRC website at http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-information-and-impact-notes-tiins. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to this statement.