This is a House of Commons Committee report.
Select Committee on Statutory Instruments
Date Published: Friday 1 November 2024
At its meeting on 30 October 2024 the Committee scrutinised a number of instruments in accordance with Standing Orders. It was agreed that the special attention of the House of Commons should be drawn to one of those considered. The instruments and the grounds for reporting are given below. The relevant departmental memoranda are published as appendices to this report.
Procedure: Made negative
1.1 The Committee draws the special attention of this House to these Regulations on the ground that they are defectively drafted in one respect.
1.2 These Regulations amend the Income and Corporation Taxes (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/282) to require tax relief claims for the creative sector to be submitted electronically. They also specify the additional information required to be provided by claimant companies in support of such claims.
1.3 Regulation 2(1) provides that a claim under Parts 14A to 15E of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 is invalid unless the information specified in Table 1 of the Schedule to the Regulations is provided to an officer of Revenue and Customs within a specified period. In Table 1, the information required for every individual production refers to “High-End Television Tax Relief” and “Children’s Television Tax Relief”. Neither the instrument nor the explanatory materials defined these terms or indicated what these reliefs were. The Committee asked His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to explain.
1.4 In a memorandum printed at Appendix 1, the Department explains that “High-end Television Tax Relief” refers to tax relief for dramas and documentaries and “Children’s Television Tax Relief” refers to relief for children’s television programmes. The memorandum further stated that these terms are frequently used by HMRC and the creative industries, but that they do not appear in legislation. The Department acknowledges that the terms should not have been used in these Regulations without definition, apologises for the error, and undertakes to correct this at the next opportunity.
1.5 The Committee accordingly reports Table 1 for defective drafting, acknowledged by the Department.
The Committee has considered the instruments set out in the Annex to this Report, none of which were required to be reported.
Instruments subject to annulment
S.I. Number |
S.I. Title |
S.I. 2024/544 |
International Tax Compliance (Amendment) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/563 |
Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/574 |
Special Tax Sites (Applicable Sunset Date) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/671 |
Designation of Special Tax Sites (Forth Green Freeport) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/672 |
Customs (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/720 |
Value Added Tax (Refund of Tax to Museums and Galleries) (Amendment) Order 2024 |
S.I. 2024/818 |
Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme and Horizon Shortfall Scheme Fixed Sum Award (Tax Exemptions and Relief) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/901 |
Income Tax (Exemption of Social Security Benefits) (No.2) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/902 |
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme (Tax Exemptions and Relief) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/910 |
Value Added Tax (Caravans) Order 2024 |
S.I. 2024/950 |
Research and Development Relief (Information Requirements etc.) Regulations 2024 |
S.I. 2024/1005 |
Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2024 |
Procedure: Made negative
1. The Committee has asked the Department for Business and Trade for a memorandum on the following point(s):
Explain the legal meaning of the terms “High-end Television Tax Relief” and “Children’s Television Tax Relief”.
2. High-end Television Tax Relief” and “Children’s Television Tax Relief” are terms used to refer to aspects of television tax relief, which is available under Chapter 3 of Part 15A of the Corporation Tax Act 2009. “High-end Television Tax Relief” refers to tax relief for dramas and documentaries and “Children’s Television Tax Relief” refers to relief for children’s television programmes.
3. These terms are frequently used by HMRC and the creative industries, but they do not appear in legislation and should not have been used in these Regulations without definition. We apologise for this error and will correct it at the next opportunity.
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
24 May 2024
Sir Bernard Jenkin (in the Chair)
Lewis Atkinson
Claire Hughes
Charlie Maynard
Gordon McKee
Draft Report (First Report), proposed by the Chair, brought up and read.
Ordered, That the draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraphs 1.1 to 1.5 read and agreed to.
Annex agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report be the First Report of the Committee to the House.
Ordered, That the Chair make the Report to the House.
Adjourned to a day and time to be fixed by the Chair.