Commentary on Sections Overview Overview Section 833: Visiting forces and staff of designated allied headquarters
2489.This section provides that the presence in the United Kingdom of certain individuals who are in the United Kingdom for specific purposes only does not cause the individual to be treated, for income tax purposes, as being UK resident or as changing the individual’s residence or domicile (see subsection (4)). It is based on section 323 of ICTA.
2490.This section applies to an individual who is in the United Kingdom by reason only of being a member of a visiting force of a designated country or of a civilian component of such a force (see subsection (1)) or by reason of falling into one of the categories of individuals mentioned insubsections (2) and (3). But it does not apply to British and certain other citizens (see subsection (1)(c)).
2491.As it is clear that this section can only relate to individuals, the term “individual” is used throughout this section in place of “person” in section 323 of ICTA.
2492.Subsection (1) sets out in full the description of a member of a visiting force to whom this section applies. This avoids the cross-reference to section 303(1) of ITEPA in section 323(2) of ICTA.
2493.The definitions of “member” (in relation to a visiting force), “visiting force” and “member of a civilian component of a visiting force” are contained in Part 1 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952 (the 1952 Act). Those definitions have not been set out in full in this section - partly for reasons of length and partly to retain the explicit link between this section and the 1952 Act. Subsection (6) incorporates them by reference.
2494.This section corrects a minor drafting error in section 323(4) of ICTA. Section 323(4) of ICTA provides that references to a visiting force in section 323(2) apply also to a civilian component of such a force and that “that subsection shall be construed as one with Part 1 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952”. As there is no reference to “civilian component” in section 323(2) of ICTA, construing that subsection as one with Part 1 of the 1952 Act does not have the effect of applying the definition of “member of a civilian component of a visiting force” in section 10 of that Act for the purposes of section 323(4) or (5) of ICTA. There is no doubt that the definition is intended to apply.
2495.This section makes the correction by:
	incorporating in subsection (1) the provisions of section 323(4) of ICTA applying section 323(2) of that Act to a member of a civilian component of a visiting force; and
	providing in subsection (6) not only for subsection (1) to be interpreted as if in Part 1 of the 1952 Act, but also for subsection (2), which is based on section 323(5) of ICTA, to be so interpreted.
2496.Section 303 of ITEPA, which is based on part of section 323 of ICTA and applies to the individuals to whom this section applies, provides that earnings paid to such individuals by the government of a designated country or by a designated allied headquarters are exempt from income tax.
2497.The effect of section 833 of this Act is that an individual to whom it applies is not liable to United Kingdom income tax on income arising from a source outside the United Kingdom.
2498.Subsection (5) ensures that an individual to whom this section applies has the benefit of the personal reliefs to which the individual would be entitled if resident in the United Kingdom. Such reliefs will, accordingly, be available in calculating the individual’s liability to United Kingdom income tax on such income as, for example, United Kingdom bank interest, dividends from UK resident companies and UK-based earnings which are not exempt under section 303 of ITEPA.