Finance Act, 1983

Set-off of advance corporation tax.

39.—(1) Advance corporation tax paid by a company (and not repaid) in respect of any distribution made by it in an accounting period shall be set, so far as possible, against its liability to corporation tax on any income charged to corporation tax for that accounting period and shall accordingly discharge a corresponding amount of that liability.

(2) Where in the case of any accounting period of a company there is an amount of surplus advance corporation tax (that is to say, advance corporation tax which cannot be set against the company's liability to corporation tax for that period because of a want or deficiency of income charged to corporation tax for the period or because of any relief from or reduction in the amount of corporation tax charged on such income for the period), the company may, within two years after the end of that period, claim to have the whole or any part of that amount treated for the purposes of this section (but not of any further application of this subsection) as if it were advance corporation tax paid in respect of distributions made by the company in any of its accounting periods ending in the period of twelve months immediately preceding that accounting period (but so that the amount which is the subject of the claim is set, so far as possible, against the company's liability for a more recent accounting period before a more remote one) and corporation tax shall, so far as may be required, be repaid accordingly.

(3) Where in the case of any accounting period of a company there is an amount of surplus advance corporation tax which has not been dealt with under subsection (2), that amount shall be treated for the purposes of this section (including any further application of this subsection) as if it were advance corporation tax paid in respect of distributions made by the company in the next accounting period.

(4) For the purposes of this section the income of a company charged to corporation tax for any accounting period shall be its income for that period as defined in section 28 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , for the purposes of that section.

(5) For the purposes of this section a notice under section 143 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , may require the inclusion in the return to be delivered by a company under the said section 143 of particulars of any surplus advance corporation tax carried forward in relation to that company under subsection (3).

(6) This section shall have effect subject to the subsequent provisions of this Chapter.