Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 section 284A

Concessions that defer a charge

Section 284A deals with situations where a taxpayer has relied on an HMRC concession (rather than a statutory provision) to defer a capital gains tax charge, and what happens when that concessionary relief is later repudiated.

• Where a taxpayer obtained capital gains relief through an HMRC concession (published before 9 March 1999, or a substantially equivalent replacement) rather than through statute, and someone later repudiates that relief, a chargeable gain equal to the original relief arises in the later period
• The concession must have been generally available to anyone meeting its terms — it cannot have been a special arrangement for an individual taxpayer
• Repudiation occurs when circumstances arise that would have triggered a clawback had the relief been given under the equivalent statutory provisions, but the clawback is technically prevented because the relief was concessionary rather than statutory
• If a person accepts in writing to HMRC that the concessionary benefit may be recouped from them, that acceptance is irrevocable and they cannot later amend, appeal against, or challenge any assessment in a way that contradicts it