Annex 1: Minor changes in the law made by the Act: Change 140: Foreign income: special rules: unremittable income: time limit for claims for relief: section 842(5)
This change alters the time limit for claims to relief in respect of unremittable income arising outside the United Kingdom so that the limit is tied to the tax year for which the income would otherwise be chargeable, rather than to the tax year in which the income arises.
Under section 584(6)(a) of ICTA a claim must be made “on or before the first anniversary of the 31 January next following the year of assessment in which the income arises”. The year in which the income arises, however, might not be the year for which the income is chargeable, and the normal time limit for claims is by reference to the year for which the income is chargeable. So in such a case the limit under section 584(6)(a) of ICTA would differ from the normal time limit for claims.
In rewriting section 584(6)(a) of ICTA in section 842(5), the time limit for claims has been expressed by reference to the tax year for which the income would be chargeable if no claim were made, so aligning the limit for this kind of claim with the normal time limits for claims.
This change has no implications for the amount of tax due, who pays it or when. It affects (in principle and in practice) only administrative matters.