(1) A claim for relief may be made under this section where the intermediary—

(a) is a company,

(b) is treated as making a deemed employment payment in any tax year, and

(c) either in that tax year (whether before or after that payment is treated as made), or in a subsequent tax year, makes a distribution (a “relevant distribution”).

(2) A claim for relief under this section must be made—

(a) by the intermediary by notice to [an officer of Revenue and Customs]¹, and

(b) within 5 years after the 31st January following the tax year in which the distribution is made.

(3) If on a claim being made [an officer of Revenue and Customs]¹ [is]² satisfied that relief should be given in order to avoid a double charge to tax, [the officer]³ must direct the giving of such relief by way of amending any assessment, by discharge or repayment of tax, or otherwise, as appears to [the officer]³ appropriate.

(4) Relief under this section is given by setting the amount of the deemed employment payment against the relevant distribution so as to reduce the distribution.

(5) In the case of more than one relevant distribution, [an officer of Revenue and Customs]¹ must exercise the power conferred by this section so as to secure that so far as practicable relief is given by setting the amount of a deemed employment payment—

(a) against relevant distributions of the same tax year before those of other years,

(b) against relevant distributions received by the worker before those received by another person, and

(c) against relevant distributions of earlier years before those of later years.

(6) Where the amount of a relevant distribution is reduced under this section, the amount of any associated tax credit is reduced accordingly.