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Mergers within Section 181 typically arise in joint ventures between large groups.  Where there is genuine uncertainty as to whether the rule will apply to a proposed merger then a non-statutory clearance may be sought.

A non-statutory clearance application in relation to Section 181 may be -

• enclosed with any application for statutory clearance made to HMRC's Clearance & Counteraction Team in connection with the same transactions,
• sent to the group's Customer Compliance Manager, where appointed, or
• sent to the non-statutory clearance team at [email protected].

All such applications should be referred to Capital Gains Technical Group for advice.

Where there is an associated statutory clearance then the decision of the Clearance & Counteraction Team on that matter will also apply for Section 181 in respect of the commercial reasons and purpose of the proposed transactions (S181(1)(b)).

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp UK is a key driver in the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and a signatory to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of Taxation (the DAC); therefore, it is important that we are mindful of our international exchange of information obligations. A non-statutory clearance in respect of Section 181 is an agreement made between a tax authority and a customer, upon which the customer can rely. This makes it a "ruling" for international taxation purposes, meaning it is very likely to be exchangeable with another jurisdiction:

1. automatically, under BEPS Action 5 (IEIM540010);
2. automatically, under the DAC (IEIM550010); or
3. spontaneuosly, where it would be foreseeably relevant to advice another jurisdiction (IEIM530010).

For more information, including whether, when and how to exchange such rulings, please consult IEIM500000 onwards. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappre may be information that you will need to collect from the customer, so it is important that HMRC colleagues review the guidance on sharing rulings before replying.