Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 820

Transfer of assets on European cross-border transfer of business

Section 820 provides for the tax-neutral transfer of intangible fixed assets when a business is transferred cross-border within a European context.

• Where a European cross-border transfer of business includes intangible fixed assets that are chargeable intangible assets for both the transferor and the transferee, the transfer of those assets is treated as tax-neutral — meaning no taxable gain or allowable loss arises on the transfer.
• The relief only applies if the transfer meets the genuine commercial transaction requirement set out elsewhere in the legislation, ensuring the transfer is not undertaken primarily for tax avoidance purposes.
• The relief is not available if the transferor is a transparent entity — defined as a company resident in a member state that does not have an ordinary share capital.
• Residence in a relevant state requires the entity to be within a charge to tax in that state and not treated as resident in a territory outside a relevant state under any applicable double taxation agreement.