For the purposes of exemption under Section 176(1) ITEPA 2003 (see EIM26158) a loan is comparable with another if they are made:
The words the same or similar purposes have their ordinary
common-sense meaning. A loan to buy shares in one company is made
for a similar purpose to a loan to buy shares in another company. A
loan to buy a holiday is not made for a similar purpose to a loan
to buy a house.
The words on the same terms and conditions mean just what
they say. If two loans are:
they are not made on the same terms and conditions.
Similarly, since any fees charged in connection with the
making of a loan (for example, valuation fees, administration or
arrangement fees, reservation or booking fees) are part of the
terms and conditions of the loan, a loan where no such fees are
charged cannot, by definition, have been made on the same terms and
conditions as one where such fees are charged. Any agreement to
share a commission on the granting of a loan is part of the terms
of the making of the loan. So if, on the giving of a loan, an
employer shares commission with one of its employees, but does not
share it with members of the public at large (or does so less
favourably), then the loans are
not comparable even if they are identical in other
respects.
