Section 499 — Corporation Tax Act 2009: Registered society payments treated as interest under loan relationship

Registered society payments treated as interest under loan relationship 499 1 Any dividend, bonus or other sum payable to a shareholder in—

a a registered society , or b a UK agricultural or fishing co-operative, is treated for corporation tax purposes as interest under a loan relationship of the society or co-operative if it is payable by reference to the amount of the shareholder's holding in its share capital.

2 If subsection (1) applies—

a so far as the shareholder's holding is held for the purposes of a trade, the shareholder is treated for the purposes of section 297 as a party to the loan relationship referred to in subsection (1) for that purpose, and b so far as the holding is held for any other purpose, the shareholder is treated for the purposes of that section as a party to that loan relationship for that other purpose.

3 In subsection (1) “ UK agricultural or fishing co-operative ” means a co-operative association—

a which is established in the United Kingdom and UK resident, and b whose primary object is assisting its members in—

i carrying on agricultural or horticultural businesses on land occupied by them in the United Kingdom, or ii carrying on businesses consisting in the catching or taking of fish or shellfish.

4 In subsection (3) “ co-operative association ” means a body with a written constitution from which the Secretary of State considers that it is in substance a co-operative association.

5 For the purposes of subsection (4), the Secretary of State must have regard to the way in which the body's constitution provides for its income to be applied for its members' benefit and all other relevant provisions.

6 In the application of subsections (4) and (5) in Northern Ireland for “the Secretary of State” substitute “ the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development ” .