Annex 1: Minor changes in the law Change 53: Transactions in land: clearance procedure: section 831
This change gives the Commissioners for HMRC responsibility for granting or denying clearance concerning transactions in land.
Section 776 of ICTA is a complex anti-avoidance provision concerning transactions in land. Section 776(11) lays down a statutory clearance procedure. It provides that the taxpayer company is to provide particulars of the transaction to “the inspector to whom it makes its return of income”.
This could cause theoretical difficulties if the taxpayer:
	is not legally obliged to file a self-assessment return;
	does not file a self-assessment return; and
	wishes to obtain clearance under section 776(11) of ICTA.
In practice, if the taxpayer makes a clearance application to the HMRC office dealing with that taxpayer’s affairs, that HMRC office processes the application.
Section 831, which is based on section 776(11) of ICTA, gives the responsibility for clearances concerning transactions in land to the Commissioners for HMRC, rather than the officer to whom the taxpayer makes a return of income. This is consistent with section 707 of ICTA (transactions in securities: clearance procedure), which is rewritten in section 749 of this Act.
This change in the law, in practice, has no effect on the administration of the clearance procedure for transactions in land.
This change has no implications for the amount of tax paid, who pays it or when. It affects (in principle but not in practice) only administrative matters.