Finance Act, 1996
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Certification in respect of shares exceeding £250,000. |
20.—Chapter III of Part I of the Finance Act, 1984 , is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 13A: | |
“13B.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where on or after the 23rd day of January, 1996, a company raises any amount through the issue of eligible shares (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘relevant issue’) for the purpose of qualifying trading operations other than such operations as are referred to in subparagraph (iiib) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1990 ) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 16, relief shall not be given in respect of the excess of the amount over the amount determined by the formula set out in the Table to this subsection unless the company produces to the Revenue Commissioners a relevant certificate or a combined certificate within the meaning of this section: | ||
Provided that where the said company is associated with one or more other companies within the meaning of section 13 A (as amended by the Finance Act, 1996), then A in the formula set out in the Table to this subsection shall include the aggregate of the amounts raised through the issue of eligible shares at any time before or on the date of the relevant issue by all the companies so associated (including the said company). | ||
TABLE | ||
£250,000 — A | ||
where A is— | ||
(a) £250,000, or | ||
(b) an amount equal to the aggregate of all amounts raised by the company through the issue of eligible shares before or on the date of the relevant issue, | ||
whichever is the lesser amount. | ||
(2) The provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of section 13A shall, with any necessary modifications, apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section. | ||
(3) (a) In this section ‘relevant certificate’ means a certificate from an authority (within the meaning of this section) given to a company in relation to a relevant issue, certifying, on the basis of a business plan of the company and any other information which the company supplies to the authority or which the authority may reasonably request the company to furnish to it, that, having regard to the amount of money raised or to be raised by the relevant issue, the authority is satisfied that— | ||
(i) the purpose or purposes specified in section 12 (1) (c) (i) for which the money raised, or to be raised, is intended to be used has or have the potential to create a reasonable level of additional sustainable employment in the company, or | ||
(ii) the money raised or to be raised is necessary to secure the survival of the company and maintain a reasonable level of sustainable employment. | ||
(b) In considering whether to give a relevant certificate to a company, an authority shall have regard only to such guidelines for that purpose as may, from time to time, be agreed— | ||
(i) with the consent of the Minister for Finance, between the certifying agency and the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht or the Minister for Enterprise and Employment or the Minister for the Marine or the Minister for Tourism and Trade (as may be appropriate in the circumstances), or | ||
(ii) between the certifying Minister and the Minister for Finance, | ||
and those guidelines may, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, include provision— | ||
(I) for the submission to the authority by the company concerned, in relation to its business plan, of an annual progress report, in a form to be specified by the authority, | ||
(II) to ensure that money raised through a relevant issue is used by a company or its qualifying subsidiary only for one or more of the purposes specified in section 12 (1) (c) (i) and for no other purposes, | ||
(III) that the issue of the certificate does not represent any form of approval by the authority of the commercial viability of the qualifying trading operations carried on or to be carried on by the company concerned, and | ||
(IV) for the regarding as null and void, from its date of issue, of a relevant certificate where the company concerned fails to comply with its business plan or any modification thereof which may be agreed between it and the authority. | ||
(4) In this section ‘combined certificate’ means a certificate given by an authority to a company which comprises— | ||
(a) (i) a certificate referred to in paragraph (ii) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 ) of the proviso to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 12, or | ||
(ii) (I) a certificate referred to in paragraph (iii) (as amended by the Finance Act, 1996) of the proviso to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 12, and | ||
(II) an approval of a development and marketing plan as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (3B) of section 15, | ||
or | ||
(iii) a certificate referred to in paragraph (v) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1996) of the proviso to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 12, or | ||
(iv) an approval of a development and marketing plan as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (3A) of section 15, | ||
and | ||
(b) a relevant certificate. | ||
(5) An authority shall not issue a combined certificate unless and until all necessary conditions for the issue of— | ||
(a) in the first instance, as may be appropriate— | ||
(i) the certificate mentioned in subparagraph (i) or (iii), as the case may be, of paragraph (a) of subsection (4), or | ||
(ii) the certificate and approval mentioned in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subsection (4), or | ||
(iii) the approval mentioned in subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (a) of subsection (4), | ||
and | ||
(b) thereafter, and only thereafter, the relevant certificate, | ||
have been satisfied. | ||
(6) In this section, ‘an authority’ means— | ||
(a) in respect of such qualifying trading operations mentioned in subparagraph (i) (as amended by the Finance Act, 1990 ), (ii) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1990 ), (iid) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1995 ), or (iiic) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1990 ) of paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987 ) of subsection (2) of section 16, Forbairt, the Industrial Development Agency (Ireland), the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited or Údarás na Gaeltachta, as may be appropriate: | ||
Provided that for the purposes of such qualifying trading operations as are referred to in the aforesaid subparagraph (i), an authority shall mean Bord Ias-caigh Mhara in the case of those qualifying trading operations in respect of which the said Bord administers a scheme of assistance to grant aid, | ||
(b) in respect of such qualifying trading operations mentioned in subparagraph (iie) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1995 ), (iiia) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1988 ), or (iiid) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994 ) of paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987 ) of subsection (2) of section 16, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, | ||
(c) in respect of such qualifying trading operations mentioned in subparagraph (iiie) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1996) of paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987 ) of subsection (2) of section 16, the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, | ||
(d) in respect of such qualifying trading operations mentioned in subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987 ) of subsection (2) of section 16, Bord Fáilte Éireann, and | ||
(e) in respect of such qualifying trading operations mentioned in subparagraph (v) of paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987 ) of subsection (2) of section 16, An Bord Tráchtála.”. |