Finance Act 2007

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Group relief for certain foreign losses.

48.— (1) Chapter 5 of Part 12 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 411—

(i) by substituting the following for subsection (2):

“(2) Subject to subsection (2A), relief for—

(a) trading losses and other amounts eligible for relief from corporation tax, and

(b) trading losses incurred by non-resident companies and other amounts not otherwise eligible for relief from corporation tax,

may in accordance with this Chapter be surrendered by a company (in this Chapter referred to as the ‘surrendering company’) which is a member of a group of companies and, on the making of a claim by another company (in this Chapter referred to as the ‘claimant company’) which is a member of the same group, may be allowed to the claimant company by means of a relief from corporation tax (in this Chapter referred to as ‘group relief ’).”,

and

(ii) by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the trading losses or other amounts are of the type referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), group relief shall only be available in accordance with this Chapter where—

(a) the surrendering company is—

(i) resident in a relevant Member State, other than the State, and

(ii) a 75 per cent subsidiary of the claimant company,

and

(b) the claimant company is resident in the State.”,

and

(b) by inserting the following after section 420B:

“Group relief: relief for certain losses of non-resident companies.

420C.— (1) In this section—

‘ foreign loss ’ means a loss or other amount eligible for group relief in accordance with section 411(2A);

‘ relevant foreign loss ’ means the amount of a foreign loss that—

(a) corresponds to an amount of a kind that, for the purposes of section 420 or 420A, could be available for surrender by means of group relief by a company resident in the State,

(b) is calculated in accordance with the applicable rules under the law of the surrendering state for determining the amount of loss or other amount eligible for relief from tax in that state,

(c) is not attributable to a trade carried on in the State through a branch or agency,

(d) is not otherwise available for surrender, relief or offset in accordance with any provisions of the Tax Acts,

(e) is a trapped loss within the meaning of subsection (2), and

(f) is not available for surrender, relief or offset under the law of any relevant Member State, other than the State or the surrendering state;

‘ surrendering state ’ means the relevant Member State in which the surrendering company referred to in section 411(2A) is resident for the purposes of tax.

(2) For the purposes of this section a ‘ trapped loss ’, in relation to an accounting period of a company, means a foreign loss that under the law of the surrendering state cannot be (or, if a timely claim for such set off or relief had been made, could not have been) set off or otherwise relieved for the purposes of tax against profits (of whatever description) of—

(a) that accounting period of the company,

(b) any preceding accounting period of the company,

(c) any later accounting period of the company, and

(d) any period of any other company resident in the surrendering state.

(3) (a) Subject to subsection (4), where in any accounting period the surrendering company has incurred a relevant foreign loss, then the amount of the loss shall be treated (with any necessary modifications) for the purposes of sections 420A and 420B as a relevant trading loss incurred by the surrendering company in the accounting period.

(b) Relief for a relevant foreign loss shall be given after relief for any losses (including relief for losses under section 397) which are not relevant foreign losses.

(4) This section does not apply where the relevant foreign loss arose as the result of any arrangements whatsoever the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of which was to secure that the loss would qualify for group relief.

(5) Subject to subsection (6), a claim under subsection (3) shall be made within 2 years from the end of the accounting period in which the loss is incurred.

(6) Where—

(a) at any time relief under subsection (3) may not be given in respect of a loss by virtue only of paragraph (c) of subsection (2), and

(b) at any later time the claimant company proves to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the condition in subsection (2)(c) is satisfied in relation to the loss at that time,

the claimant company may make a claim for relief under subsection (3) in respect of the loss and any such claim shall be made within 2 years from the time at which the condition in subsection (2)(c) is first met.

(7) For the purpose of giving effect to this section ‘accounting period’, in relation to a surrendering company, means a period which would be an accounting period of the company if the company became resident in the State, and accordingly within the charge to corporation tax, at the time when it became a 75 per cent subsidiary referred to in section 411(2A)(a)(ii).

(8) The inspector may by notice in writing require a company claiming relief from tax by virtue of this section to furnish him or her with such information or particulars as may be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to this section.”.

(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), subsection (1) is deemed to have applied as respects an accounting period ending on or after 1 January 2006.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, where an accounting period of a company begins before 1 January 2006 and ends on or after that date, it shall be divided into two parts, one beginning on the date on which the accounting period begins and ending on 31 December 2005 and the other beginning on 1 January 2006 and ending on the date on which the accounting period ends, and both parts shall be treated as if they were separate accounting periods of the company.