GIM9070 - Mutual insurance: tax treatment: accounting periods ending before 1 October 2002: exchange gains and losses
Where assets or liabilities are held for the purposes of mutual
general insurance business, they are treated by Chapter 2 Part 2 FA
1993 as being held in “exempt circumstances” –
FA93/SCH15/PARA2 (4). The effect of this is that the
“alternative method” of computing exchange gains and
losses applies – and the effect of that method is that any
exchange gains and losses on monetary assets and liabilities are
reduced to nil where they are held for the purposes of the mutual
business. Thus, no exchange gains or losses, even on currency
denominated investments or currency contracts, fall to be brought
into account under Chapter 2 Part 2 FA 1993.
Assets held in exempt circumstances remain within the scope
of TCGA 1992, even though other currency denominated assets and
currency contracts are taken outside it by FA93/SCH17. However the
normal rules of TCGA 1992 for foreign currency and currency
denominated assets (the rule in Bentley v Pike that each item of
expenditure and consideration is translated by reference to the
spot rate on the day concerned) is overridden by regulations 7 to
12 of the Exchange Gains and Losses (Insurance Companies)
Regulations 1994 (SI1994/3231).
These regulations provide two bases:
- if the company made an election under regulation 8A, normally to be made by 30 September 1996, then any exchange gains and losses accruing to the company in its accounts would be taken into account in computing its loan relationships profits and losses;
- if the company did not make the election, then the basis of computation of capital gains was such that, in effect, Chapter 2 Part 2 FA 1993 applied, but the charge is under TCGA 1992.
Further detail about regulations 7 to 12 can be found in the Life Assurance Manual at LAM 4B.143 onwards.
