Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 1142

Agent of independent status

Section 1142 establishes that a company does not create a permanent establishment in a territory simply by conducting business there through an independent agent, and introduces supplementary rules for specific types of UK-based agents acting on behalf of non-UK resident companies.

• A company is not treated as having a permanent establishment in a territory merely because it carries on business there through an independent agent acting in the ordinary course of that agent's business.
• Special supplementary rules apply where a non-UK resident company conducts transactions through a UK-based broker, investment manager, or Lloyd's agent.
• The broker provisions are in section 1145; the investment manager provisions are in sections 1146 to 1150; and the Lloyd's agent provisions are in section 1151.
• The independent agent exemption is a key safeguard ensuring that routine use of third-party intermediaries does not inadvertently trigger a taxable presence in a territory.