PART 4 continued
A person who assists in or induces the preparation or delivery of any information, return or other document that—
(a) he knows will be, or is likely to be, used for any purpose of tax, and
(b) he knows to be incorrect,
is liable to a penalty not exceeding £3,000.
(1) For the purposes of this Part a person shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if he did it within such further time, if any, as the Inland Revenue may allow.
(2) Where a person had a reasonable excuse for not doing anything required to be done for the purposes of this Part—
(a) he shall be deemed not to have failed to do it unless the excuse ceased, and
(b) after the excuse ceased, he shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if he did it without unreasonably delay after the excuse had ceased.
(1) Statements made or documents produced by or on behalf of a person are not inadmissible in proceedings to which this section applies by reason only that it has been drawn to his attention—
(a) that where serious tax fraud has been committed the Board may accept a money settlement and that the Board will accept such a settlement, and will not pursue a criminal prosecution, if he makes a full confession of all tax irregularities, or
(b) that the extent to which he is helpful and volunteers information is a factor that will be taken into account in determining the amount of any penalty,
and that he was or may have been induced thereby to make the statements or produce the documents.
(2) The proceedings to which this section applies are—
(a) any criminal proceedings against the person in question for any form of fraudulent conduct in connection with or in relation to tax;
(b) any proceedings against him for the recovery of any tax due from him;
(c) any proceedings for a penalty or on appeal against the determination of a penalty.
(1) Schedule 14 has effect with respect to the determination of penalties under this Part and related appeals.
(2) The Board may in their discretion mitigate a penalty under this Part, or stay or compound any proceedings for the recovery of such a penalty.
They may also, after judgment, further mitigate or entirely remit the penalty.
(3) Nothing in the provisions of this Part relating to penalties affects any criminal proceedings for an offence.
(1) In this Part “company”, except as otherwise expressly provided, means any body corporate or unincorporated association, but does not include a partnership.
(2) Everything to be done by a company under this Part shall be done by the company acting through—
(a) the proper officer of the company, or
(b) another person having for the time being having the express, implied or apparent authority of the company to act on its behalf for the purpose.
Paragraph (b) does not apply where a liquidator has been appointed for the company.
(3) Service on a company of any document under or in pursuance of this Part may be effected by serving it on the proper officer.
(4) Tax due from a company that—
(a) is not a body corporate, or
(b) is incorporated under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom,
may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered from the proper officer of the company.
(5) The proper officer may retain out of any money coming into his hands on behalf of the company sufficient sums to pay that tax and, so far as he is not so reimbursed, he is entitled to be indemnified by the company in respect of the liability imposed on him.
(6) For the purposes of this Part—
(a) the proper officer of a body corporate is the secretary, or person acting as secretary, of the company, and
(b) the proper officer of an unincorporated association, or of a body corporate that does not have a proper officer within paragraph (a), is the treasurer, or person acting as treasurer, of the company.
This subsection does not apply if a liquidator or administrator has been appointed for the company.
(7) If a liquidator or administrator has been appointed for the company, then, for the purposes of this Part—
(a) the liquidator or, as the case may be, the administrator is the proper officer, and
(b) if two or more persons are appointed to act jointly or concurrently as the administrator of the company, the proper officer is—
(i) such one of them as is specified in a notice given to the Inland Revenue by those persons for the purposes of this section, or
(ii) where the Inland Revenue is not so notified, such one or more of those persons as the Inland Revenue may designate as the proper officer for those purposes.
(1) This Part (with the exception of the provisions mentioned in subsection (7) below) applies in relation to a unit trust scheme as if—
(a) the trustees were a company, and
(b) the rights of the unit holders were shares in the company.
(2) Each of the parts of an umbrella scheme is regarded for the purposes of this Part as a separate unit trust scheme and the scheme as a whole is not so regarded.
(3) An “umbrella scheme” means a unit trust scheme—
(a) that provides arrangements for separate pooling of the contributions of participants and the profits or income out of which payments are to be made for them, and
(b) under which the participants are entitled to exchange rights in one pool for rights in another.
A “part” of an umbrella scheme means such of the arrangements as relate to a separate pool.
(4) In this Part, subject to any regulations under subsection (5)—
“unit trust scheme” has the same meaning as in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8), and
“unit holder” means a person entitled to a share of the investments subject to the trusts of a unit trust scheme.
(5) The Treasury may by regulations provide that a scheme of a description specified in the regulations is to be treated as not being a unit trust scheme for the purposes of this Part.
Any such regulations may contain such supplementary and transitional provisions as appear to the Treasury to be necessary or expedient.
(6) Section 469A of the Taxes Act 1988 (court common investment funds treated as authorised unit trusts) applies for the purposes of this Part as it applies for the purposes of that Act, with the substitution for references to an authorised unit trust of references to a unit trust scheme.
(7) An unit trust scheme is not to be treated as a company for the purposes of—
section 53 (deemed market value rule for transactions with connected companies), or
Schedule 7 (group relief, reconstruction relief or acquisition relief).
(1) The Treasury may by regulations make such provision as they consider appropriate for securing that the provisions of this Part have effect in relation to—
(a) open-ended investment companies of such description as may be prescribed in the regulations, and
(b) transactions involving such companies,
in a manner corresponding, subject to such modifications as the Treasury consider appropriate, to the manner in which they have effect in relation to unit trust schemes and transactions involving such trusts.
(2) The regulations may, in particular, make provision—
(a) modifying the operation of any prescribed provision in relation to open-ended investment companies so as to secure that arrangements for treating the assets of such a company as assets comprised in separate pools are given an effect corresponding to that of equivalent arrangements constituting the separate parts of an umbrella scheme;
(b) treating the separate parts of the undertaking of an open-ended investment company in relation to which such provision is made as distinct companies for the purposes of this Part.
(3) Regulations under this section may—
(a) make different provision for different cases, and
(b) contain such incidental, supplementary, consequential and transitional provision as the Treasury think fit.
(4) In this section—
“open-ended investment company” has the meaning given by section 236 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8);
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this section; and
“unit trust scheme” and “umbrella scheme” have the same meaning as in section 101.
(1) This section applies to a land transaction where there are two or more purchasers who are or will be jointly entitled to the interest acquired.
(2) The general rules are that—
(a) any obligation of the purchaser under this Part in relation to the transaction is an obligation of the purchasers jointly but may be discharged by any of them,
(b) anything required or authorised by this Part to be done in relation to the purchaser must be done by or in relation to all of them, and
(c) any liability of the purchaser under this Part in relation to the transaction (in particular, any liability arising by virtue of the failure to fulfil an obligation within paragraph (a)), is a joint and several liability of the purchasers.
These rules are subject to the following provisions.
(3) If the transaction is a notifiable transaction, a single land transaction return is required.
(4) The declaration required by paragraph 1(1)(c) of Schedule 10 or paragraph 2(1)(c) of Schedule 11 (declaration that return or self-certificate is complete and correct) must be made by all the purchasers.
(5) If the Inland Revenue give notice of an enquiry into the return or self-certificate—
(a) the notice must be given to each of the purchasers,
(b) the powers of the Inland Revenue as to the production of documents and provision of information for the purposes of the enquiry are exercisable separately (and differently) in relation to each of the purchasers,
(c) any of the purchasers may apply for a direction that a closure notice be given (and all of them are entitled to appear and be heard on the application), and
(d) the closure notice must be given to each of the purchasers.
(6) A Revenue determination or discovery assessment relating to the transaction must be made against all the purchasers and is not effective against any of them unless notice of it is given to each of them whose identity is known to the Inland Revenue.
(7) In the case of an appeal arising from proceedings under this Part relating to the transaction—
(a) the appeal may be brought by any of the purchasers,
(b) notice of the appeal must be given to any of them by whom it is not brought,
(c) the agreement of all the purchasers is required if the appeal is to be settled by agreement,
(d) if it is not settled, any of them are entitled to appear and be heard, and
(e) the decision on the appeal binds all of them.
(8) This section has effect subject to—
the provisions of Schedule 15 relating to partnerships, and
the provisions of Schedule 16 relating to trustees.
(1) Schedule 15 has effect with respect to the application of this Part in relation to partnerships.
(2) In that Schedule—
Part 1 defines “partnership” and contains other general provisions, and
Part 2 deals with ordinary partnership transactions, and
Part 3 excludes certain transactions from stamp duty land tax.
Schedule 16 has effect with respect to the application of this Part in relation to trustees.
(1) The person having the direction, management or control of the property of an incapacitated person—
(a) is responsible for discharging any obligations under this Part, in relation to a transaction affecting that property, to which the incapacitated person would be subject if he were not incapacitated, and
(b) may retain out of money coming into his hands on behalf of the incapacitated person sums sufficient to meet any payment he is liable to make under this Part, and, so far as he is not so reimbursed, is entitled to be indemnified in respect of any such payment.
(2) The parent or guardian of a minor is responsible for discharging any obligations of the minor under this Part that are not discharged by the minor himself.
(3) The personal representatives of a person who is the purchaser under a land transaction—
(a) are responsible for discharging the obligations of the purchaser under this Part in relation to the transaction, and
(b) may deduct any payment made by them under this Part out of the assets and effects of the deceased person.
(4) A receiver appointed by a court in the United Kingdom having the direction and control of any property is responsible for discharging any obligations under this Part in relation to a transaction affecting that property as if the property were not under the direction and control of the court.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, this Part applies in relation to public offices and departments of the Crown.
But nothing in this Part shall require the payment by any such office or department of tax that would ultimately be borne by the Crown.
(2) A land transaction under which the purchaser is any of the following is exempt from charge:
| Government |
|---|
| A Minister of the Crown |
| The Scottish Ministers |
| A Northern Ireland department |
| Parliament etc |
| The Corporate Officer of the House of Lords |
| The Corporate Officer of the House of Commons |
| The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body |
| The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission |
| The National Assembly for Wales |
(3) The powers conferred by Part 7 of Schedule 13 (entry with warrant to obtain information) are not exercisable in relation to premises occupied for the purposes of the Crown.
(1) Transactions are “linked” for the purposes of this Part if they form part of a single scheme, arrangement or series of transactions between the same vendor and purchaser or, in either case, persons connected with them.
Section 839 of the Taxes Act 1988 (connected persons) has effect for the purposes of this subsection
(2) Where there are two or more linked transactions with the same effective date, the purchaser, or all of the purchasers if there is more than one, may make a single land transaction return as if all of those transactions that are notifiable were a single notifiable transaction.
(3) Where two or more purchasers make a single return in respect of linked transactions, section 103 (joint purchasers) applies as if—
(a) the transactions in question were a single transaction, and
(b) those purchasers were purchasers acting jointly.
(1) The Treasury may if they consider it expedient in the public interest make provision by regulations for the variation of this Part in its application to land transactions of any description.
(2) The power conferred by this section includes, in particular, power to alter—
(a) the descriptions of land transaction that are chargeable or notifiable;
(b) the descriptions of land transaction in respect of which tax is chargeable at any existing rate or amount.
(3) The power conferred by this section does not, except as mentioned in subsection (2)(b), include power to vary any threshold, rate or amount specified in—
(a) section 55 (amount of tax chargeable: general), or
(b) Schedule 5 (amount of tax chargeable: rent).
(4) This section has effect subject to section 110 (approval of regulations by House of Commons).
(5) Regulations under this section do not apply in relation to any transaction of which the effective date is after the end of—
(a) the period of 18 months beginning with the day on which the regulations were made, or
(b) such shorter period as may be specified in the regulations.
This does not affect the power to make further provision by regulations under this section to the same or similar effect.
(6) Regulations under this section may include such supplementary, transitional and incidental provision as appears to the Treasury to be necessary or expedient.
(7) The power conferred by this section may be exercised at any time after the passing of this Act.
(1) An instrument containing regulations under section 109 (general power to vary this Part by regulations) must be laid before the House of Commons after being made.
(2) If the regulations are not approved by the House of Commons before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which they are made, they shall cease to have effect at the end of that period (if they have not already ceased to have effect under subsection (3)).
(3) If on any day during that period of 28 days the House of Commons, in proceedings on a motion that (or to the effect that) the regulations be approved, comes to a decision rejecting the regulations, they shall cease to have effect at the end of that day.
(4) In reckoning any such period of 28 days take no account of any time during which—
(a) Parliament is prorogued or dissolved, or
(b) the House of Commons is adjourned for more than four days.
(5) Where regulations cease to have effect under this section, their ceasing to have effect is without prejudice to anything done in reliance on them.
As to claims for repayment, see section 111.
(1) Where regulations cease to have effect under section 110, any amount paid by way of tax, or interest or penalty, that would not have been payable but for the regulations shall, on a claim, be repaid by the Inland Revenue.
(2) Section 89 (interest on repayment of tax overpaid etc) applies to a repayment under this section.
(3) A claim for repayment must be made within two years after the effective date of the transaction in question.
(4) The Inland Revenue may make provision by regulations—
(a) for varying the time limit for making a claim;
(b) as to any other conditions that must be met before repayment is made.
(1) The Treasury may by regulations amend the following provisions of this Part—
(a) Schedule 5 (amount of tax chargeable: rent);
(b) subsection (2) of section 55 (amount of tax chargeable: general) so far as relating to the thresholds at which different rates of tax become payable.
(2) The regulations may make such consequential amendments of Schedule 6 (disadvantaged areas relief) as appear to the Treasury to be appropriate.
(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section shall not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by resolution of the House of Commons.
(4) The power conferred by this section is not exercisable after the implementation date.
(1) References in this Part to “the Inland Revenue” are to any officer of the Board, except as otherwise provided.
(2) Any power of the Inland Revenue to make regulations is exercisable only by the Board.
(3) In Schedule 10 (returns, assessments and other administrative matters)—
(a) functions of the Inland Revenue under these provisions are exercisable by the Board or an officer of the Board—
(i) paragraph 28 (discovery assessment),
(ii) paragraph 29 (assessment to recover excessive repayment);
(b) functions of the Inland Revenue under these provisions are functions of the Board—
(i) paragraph 33 (relief in case of double assessment),
(ii) paragraph 34 (relief in case of mistake in return).
(4) Nothing in this section affects any provision of this Part that expressly confers functions on the Board, an officer of the Board, a collector or a specific officer of the Board.
(1) Except as otherwise provided, any power of the Treasury or the Inland Revenue to make an order or regulations under this Part, or under any other enactments relating to stamp duty land tax (including enactments passed after this Act), is exercisable by statutory instrument.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the power conferred by—
paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to this Act (tax chargeable in respect of rent: power to prescribe temporal discount rate),
section 178(5) of the Finance Act 1989 (c. 26) (power to prescribe rates of interest).
(3) Except as otherwise provided, a statutory instrument containing any order or regulations made by the Treasury or the Inland Revenue under this Part, or under any other enactments relating to stamp duty land tax (including enactments passed after this Act), shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a statutory instrument made under the power conferred by—
section 61(3) (compliance with planning obligations: power to add to list of public authorities);
paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 9 (right to buy transactions: power to add to list of relevant public sector bodies);
paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 19 (commencement and transitional provisions: power to appoint implementation date).
Schedule 17 makes provision about the General and Special Commissioners, appeals and other proceedings before the Commissioners and related matters.
(1) In this Part “residential property” means—
(a) a building that is used or suitable for use as a dwelling, or is in the process of being constructed or adapted for such use, and
(b) land that is or forms part of the garden or grounds of a building within paragraph (a) (including any building or structure on such land), or
(c) an interest in or right over land that subsists for the benefit of a building within paragraph (a) or of land within paragraph (b);
and “non-residential property” means any property that is not residential property.
This is subject to the rule in subsection (7) in the case of a transaction involving six or more dwellings.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) a building used for any of the following purposes is used as a dwelling—
(a) residential accommodation for school pupils;
(b) residential accommodation for students, other than accommodation falling with subsection (3)(b);
(c) residential accommodation for members of the armed forces;
(d) an institution that is the sole or main residence of at least 90% of its residents and does not fall within any of paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (3).
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) a building used for any of the following purposes is not used as a dwelling—
(a) a home or other institution providing residential accommodation for children;
(b) a hall of residence for students in further or higher education;
(c) a home or other institution providing residential accommodation with personal care for persons in need of personal care by reason of old age, disablement, past or present dependence on alcohol or drugs or past or present mental disorder;
(d) a hospital or hospice;
(e) a prison or similar establishment;
(f) a hotel or inn or similar establishment.
(4) Where a building is used for a purpose specified in subsection (3), no account shall be taken for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) of its suitability for any other use.
(5) Where a building that is not in use is suitable for use for at least one of the purposes specified in subsection (2) and at least one of those specified in subsection (3)—
(a) if there is one such use for which it is most suitable, or if the uses for which it is most suitable are all specified in the same sub-paragraph, no account shall be taken for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) of its suitability for any other use,
(b) otherwise, the building shall be treated for those purposes as suitable for use as a dwelling.
(6) In this section “building” includes part of a building.
(7) Where six or more separate dwellings are the subject of a single transaction involving the transfer of a major interest in, or the grant of a lease over, them, then, for the purposes of this Part as it applies in relation to that transaction, those dwellings are treated as not being residential property.
(8) The Treasury may by order—
(a) amend subsections (2) and (3) so as to change or clarify the cases where use of a building is, or is not to be, use of a building as a dwelling for the purposes of subsection (1);
(b) amend or repeal subsection (7) and the reference to that subsection in subsection (1).
Any such order may contain such incidental, supplementary, consequential or transitional provision as appears to the Treasury to be necessary or expedient.
(1) References in this Part to a “major interest” in land shall be construed as follows.
(2) In relation to land in England or Wales, the references are to—
(a) an estate in fee simple absolute, or
(b) a term of years absolute,
whether subsisting at law or in equity.
(3) In relation to land in Scotland, the references are to—
(a) the interest of an owner of land, or
(b) the tenant’s right over or interest in a property subject to a lease.
Until the appointed day for the purposes of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 (asp 5), the reference in paragraph (a) to the interest of the owner shall be read, in relation to feudal property, as a reference to the estate or interest of the proprietor of the dominium utile.
(4) In relation to land in Northern Ireland, the references are to—
(a) any freehold estate, or
(b) any leasehold estate,
whether subsisting at law or in equity.
For the purposes of this Part “market value” shall be determined as for the purposes of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (c. 12) (see sections 272 to 274 of that Act).
(1) Except as otherwise provided, the effective date of a land transaction for the purposes of this Part is the date of completion.
(2) Other provision as to the effective date of certain descriptions of land transaction is made by—
section 44(4) (contract and conveyance: contract substantially performed without having been completed), and
section 46(3) (options and rights of pre-emption).