Commentary on Sections Overview Chapter 11: Transfer of business or trade Section 831: The genuine commercial transaction requirement and clearance
2156.This section states the genuine commercial transaction conditions and provides for an advance clearance procedure in respect of it. It is based on paragraph 84 of Schedule 29 to FA 2002.
2157.Many of the relieving provisions in Part 11 of Schedule 29 to FA 2002 are conditional on the transactions involved not having an avoidance purpose. And to provide certainty to those contemplating a transaction they provide for an advance clearance application. In the source legislation these matters are repeated in each relieving provision to which they apply. Rather than rewrite the same condition and clearance as part of each of the sections to which they apply, they are rewritten only once, in this section, and applied, where appropriate, by reference, in the sections to which they are relevant, to the “genuine commercial transaction requirement”.
2158.Subsection (3) defines the “appropriate applicant” referred to in subsection (2). The source legislation defines in each relevant paragraph who should make the clearance application. Rewriting the clearance rule only once (as described in the previous paragraph) necessitates identification of the appropriate applicant depending on the transaction in respect of which the application is to be made.