Income Tax Act 2007 section 257EC

Compliance certificates

Section 257EC defines what a compliance certificate is under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and sets out the procedural requirements a company must follow before it can issue one to an investor.

• A compliance certificate is issued by the company confirming that the SEIS relief conditions relating to the shares (other than those dependent on the individual investor) are being met, in a form specified by HMRC.
• Before issuing a compliance certificate, the company must first provide HMRC with a compliance statement covering the relevant share issue.
• The company must obtain HMRC's authority before issuing a compliance certificate, and if a notice has been given to HMRC under section 257GF, fresh authority must be obtained after that notice is received.
• When HMRC has been asked to grant or renew authority and has reached a decision, it must notify the issuing company of the outcome.