home | news | site index

CLAUSE 35:  GROUPS OF COMPANIES, ETC.

SUMMARY

1.         Clause 35 gives effect to Schedule 9 to the Act which makes provision for two or more companies to be treated as a group for the purposes of the levy. 

DETAILS OF THE CLAUSE

2.         Subsection (1) gives effect to Schedule 9 to the Act, which provides for two or more companies to be treated as a group for the purposes of the levy.

3.         Subsection (2) enables the representative member of the group to account for the levy on behalf of all members.

4.         Subsection (3) provides that all members of the group shall be jointly and severally liable for any amount of aggregates levy which becomes due from the representative member including members who join the group while such levy remains unpaid. 

5.         Subsection (4) enables the Commissioners to make regulations to determine which member of the group should fulfil any obligation or pay any amount due and how.

6.         Subsection (5) states that levy due from the representative member includes levy due from other members of the group.

7.         Subsection (6) defines a group member as a company which is at any time in fulfilment of the conditions of membership in Schedule 9.  It similarly defines the representative member as the member fulfilling the appropriate conditions in Schedule 9.

SCHEDULE 9

AGGREGATES LEVY:  GROUP TREATMENT

Paragraph 1.  Eligibility for group treatment

This paragraph provides that two or  more corporate bodies are eligible for group treatment if each has a business establishment in the UK and they are under the same control.

Paragraph 2.  Application for group treatment          

Where one or more eligible bodies apply for group treatment they shall be treated as a group from the beginning of the accounting period specified in the application and one of them (as specified in the application) shall be the representative member.  The same applies to any additional membership applications.  Customs may refuse applications from eligible bodies only if they consider it poses a risk to the revenue and must do so within 90 days of receipt of the application.  Application for group treatment from ineligible bodies shall be refused and Customs shall issue a notice to that effect to the applicant.

Paragraph 3.  Modification of group treatment

Where an application is made, the following changes shall have effect from the beginning of the accounting period in which the application is made:

• a body shall be excluded from a group
  
  
• the representative shall change
  
  
• the bodies shall no longer be treated as a group. 

Customs may refuse an application for changes where it appears that a member of the group is not eligible to be a group member and there is a need to protect the revenue. 

Paragraph 4.  Termination of group treatment          

Customs may, with effect from the date specified in a notice, terminate the group treatment of a corporate body where it appears that the body is not eligible to be treated as a member of the group in order to protect the revenue.  Customs may also, by notice, substitute the representative member of a group where an existing representative member ceases to be a member of the group.  The rest of the paragraph then sets when the time specified in any notice shall have effect.

Paragraph 5.  Applications relating to group treatment

This paragraph provides that any application to Customs concerning the group treatment of any bodies corporate must be made by one of those bodies or the person controlling them.

Paragraph 6.  Notifications relating to group treatment

Any body which is a member of a group but ceases to be eligible to be so treated, shall notify Customs of the fact.  Any representative member of a group which ceases to have an established place of business in the UK shall give Customs prior notice of the fact.  Any body failing to comply with either of these requirements will render itself liable to a penalty of £250.

Paragraph 7. Supplemental regulations about applications and notifications

This paragraph enables the Commissioners to make regulations with respect to group treatment and sets out, in broad terms, the rules and conditions which the regulations may prescribe such as the time limits for, the form of and the information to be contained in any application.

Paragraph 8. Interpretation of Schedule

This paragraph defines certain terms used in Schedule 9, namely what is meant by the terms: under the same control; control of one body corporate by another body corporate; control of a body corporate by an individual and specified time.