Extra-Statutory Concessions
27 September 2017
HMRC’s list of Extra-Statutory Concessions (ESCs) has been updated to show concessions as at 6 April 2017.
This guide details the Extra-Statutory Concessions previously operated by Inland Revenue in use at 6 April 2017.
An Extra-Statutory Concession is a relaxation which gives taxpayers a reduction in tax liability to which they would not be entitled under the strict letter of the law. Most concessions are made to deal with what are, on the whole, minor or transitory anomalies under the legislation and to meet cases of hardship at the margins of the code where a statutory remedy would be difficult to devise or would run to a length out of proportion to the intrinsic importance of the matter.
The concessions described within the guide are of general application, but it must be borne in mind that in a particular case there may be special circumstances which will need to be taken into account in considering the application of the concession. A concession will not be given in any case where an attempt is made to use it for tax avoidance.
Concessions which have become obsolete are not reproduced, but their titles are printed, in italic bold type. A concession is obsolete if it has been superseded by legislation; superseded by a later concession; contained a time-limit which has now expired; withdrawn or referred to a tax or duty which no longer applies.
The titles and text of concessions which have become obsolescent are printed in italic type. A concession is obsolescent if the number of potential beneficiaries cannot now increase and will diminish over time.
Extra-Statutory Concessions as at 6 April 2017