428 Exclusion of double allowances, etc

Summary

This prevents double relief for a loss, etc. In particular, it ensures that 2 or more claimant companies cannot between them obtain relief for more than the whole loss, etc of the accounting period of the surrendering company.

Details

(1) Relief is not to be given more than once in respect of the same amount whether by way of group relief or relief under some other head.

(2) Two or more claimant companies cannot between them be given relief for more than the whole loss, etc of the accounting period of the surrendering company.

(3) Group relief is restricted where there is some part of the surrendering company’s true accounting period during which it is not in group relationship with any of the claimant companies. The full loss of the surrendering company’s accounting period is reduced by the part of the loss attributable to the part of the accounting period during which there is no claimant company in group relationship with the surrendering company.

(4) A claimant company cannot obtain relief for the losses of several surrendering companies for a total amount in excess of its profits as reduced by the amount of the profits attributable to any part of the accounting period when none of the surrendering companies was in group relationship with it.

(5) A consortium claim and a claim other than a consortium claim are not both to be effective as regards the loss, etc of the same accounting period of the same surrendering company unless each claim relates to a loss, etc apportioned under section 424(2)(a) to a component period of the accounting period and the 2 component periods do not overlap. (This deals with the case where a holding company is interposed between the joint owners and the trading company. Since the trading company is necessarily a subsidiary of the holding company, there are 2 methods of relief, namely, one for the holding company in respect of the trading company’s loss (group claim) and the other for the joint owners (consortium claim) for the same loss. These reliefs are to be alternatives and a double claim in respect of the same relief is prevented). Consortium claims are to be disregarded in subsections (3) or (4). (The point here is that in a group situation 2 claimant companies may claim a set-off of the same loss of a surrendering company while in a consortium claim each company can claim relief only in respect of its appropriate share of the surrendering company’s loss. Subsections (3) and (4) apply to set an overall limit when 2 or more claimant companies claim in respect of one loss or one claimant company claims in respect of several losses).

(6) A reference in Part 9, Chapter 1 of Part 24, Chapter 1 of Part 29 and section 765 to a capital allowance made includes a reference to such an allowance which would be made but for the granting of group relief in respect of the allowance or which could have been made but for an insufficiency of profits or other income.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2021