SE34110 - Foreign travel rules: treatment of journeys to and from oil or gas rigs in the United Kingdom Designated Area

Section 830(5) and Section 193 and 194 ICTA 1988

Section 830(5)

Section 830(5) ICTA 1988 deems that emoluments arising from duties performed in a United Kingdom designated area of the Continental Shelf should be treated as if they arose from duties performed in the United Kingdom. Section 830(5) only applies to emoluments arising from duties performed in connection with oil or gas exploration or exploitation activities (see SE67100 onwards).

Consequences for Sections 193 and 194

The main consequence of this for the foreign travel rules described at SE34020 – SE34080 is that deductions are not available for the journey between the employee's home and the point of departure to an oil or gas rig. This is because work done on a rig in a United Kingdom designated area is not carried out abroad.

Extra-statutory Concession (ESC) A65

By concession, the benefit of the employer meeting the cost of transferring the rig worker from the United Kingdom mainland to an offshore rig is not treated as chargeable to income tax.

An example of such a journey is a helicopter flight from Aberdeen to an offshore rig. See SE67190 and Section 8.23 of Booklet 490.)