Finance Act, 1992

Application of section 25 (attribution of distributions to accounting periods) of Finance Act, 1989, to interim dividends.

37.—(1) Section 25 (as amended by section 38 of the Finance Act, 1990 ) of the Finance Act, 1989 , shall have effect as respects dividends paid on or after the 6th day of April, 1992, as if in subsection (3) (a) for “6th day of April, 1991,” there was substituted “6th day of April, 1997”:

Provided that, subject to subsection (2), a company shall not be entitled, by virtue of this section, to specify, in accordance with subsection (1) of the said section 25, that a distribution, being an interim dividend or part of it, is to be treated as made for the accounting period in which it is made where—

(a) the circumstances of the company are such that, if the distribution or the part of it, as the case may be, were treated as made for the accounting period in which it is made, the company would be unable, at the time when the interim dividend is paid, to determine without recourse to estimation, how much of the distribution or the part of it, as the case may be, would, in accordance with subsection (1) of section 45 (as amended by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1989 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 , be treated as a specified distribution for the purposes of subsection (2) of the said section 45, or

(b) that treatment of the distribution or the part of it, as the case may be, as made for the accounting period in which it is made, would facilitate any arrangement whereby the tax credit in respect of a dividend received by a shareholder could exceed the tax credit, if any, in respect of a dividend received by another shareholder, notwithstanding that the shareholdings of those shareholders carry the same or substantially similar rights in respect of dividends and capital.

(2) The proviso to subsection (1) shall apply to a company—

(a) the profits brought into charge to corporation tax of which are wholly or mainly referable to relevant trading operations within the meaning of subsection (1) (as amended by section 33 of the Finance Act, 1991 ) of section 39A (inserted by section 17 of the Finance Act, 1981 ) or subsection (1) of section 39B (inserted by section 30 of the Finance Act, 1987 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 , and

(b) which—

(i) (I) is a trading or holding company owned by a consortium for the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 44 of the Finance Act, 1983 , or a 51 per cent. subsidiary of a company resident in the State, and

(II) has not made an election under the proviso (inserted by section 51 ) to subsection (1) of the said section 44,

or

(ii) is referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 47 of the Finance Act, 1983 , as the first-mentioned company,

as if paragraph (b) were deleted from that proviso.