Income Tax Act 2007 section 412J

Meaning of "operator" and related terms

Section 412J defines who counts as an "operator" (a peer-to-peer lending platform) for the purposes of the peer-to-peer lending tax relief rules, and explains what it means for a loan to be "made through" or a right to be "assigned through" such an operator.

• An "operator" is a person or entity authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to operate an electronic lending platform, or who holds an equivalent authorisation from another country within the European Economic Area.
• A loan is "made through" an operator when both the lender and the borrower enter into the loan agreement at the invitation of that operator — in other words, the platform brings the two parties together.
• A right is "assigned through" an operator when the person transferring the right and the person receiving it enter the assignment agreement at the operator's invitation, following the same principle as for loans.
• If the operator's invitation to enter an agreement was made outside the course of its regulated peer-to-peer lending activity, the agreement is not treated as having been made through the operator, so the relief provisions would not apply.