567 Nominees, bare trustees and agents

Summary

This section deals with the position where assets are held by a person as nominee for another person, or as bare trustee for another person who is absolutely entitled to the assets or who would be so entitled but for the fact of being an infant or a person under disability. In such cases disposals and acquisitions by the nominee or trustee are to be treated as if they were made by the beneficial owner.

Details

(1) The meaning of an asset held by a trustee for a person absolutely entitled to the asset as against the trustee is set out. A person is so entitled if he/she has the exclusive right (or would have but for being an infant or a person under disability) to direct how the asset should be dealt with, subject only to the right of the trustees to resort to the asset for payment of taxes, costs or other outgoings.

(2) In cases where assets are held for a person by a nominee or as trustee for a person who is absolutely entitled to the assets as against the trustee (or who would be so entitled but for being an infant or under disability), transactions by the nominee or trustee are to be treated as transactions by the beneficial owner of the assets. As a corollary, transfers of property between the nominee or trustee and the person absolutely entitled to the property are not to be treated as disposals from one to the other.

(3) If exploration or exploration activities are carried on by a person on behalf of a licence holder or lessee under the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960, the licence holder or lessee is treated as the agent of that person for the purposes of assessment to capital gains tax.

(4) The provisions of Schedule 1 apply to supplement subsection (3) (Schedule 1 contains supplementary provisions on the extension of the charge to tax to profits and income from activities on the Continental Shelf).

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2021