Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 343

Reference periods

Section 343 defines "reference periods" for the purposes of calculating ring fence profits, specifically where a company is not a licensee for a whole accounting period or where its equity share in a licence changes during the period.

• A reference period is used to break an accounting period into separate parts when a company's involvement in a licence changes partway through.
• If a company becomes or ceases to be a licensee during an accounting period, separate reference periods apply before and after the change date.
• Similarly, if a company's equity share in a licence changes during an accounting period, separate reference periods are created either side of the change.
• These reference periods feed into the calculation rules in section 344 to ensure that profits and allowances are attributed to the correct portions of the accounting period.