VCM23210 | EIS: deferral relief: shares issued on or after 6 April 1998: individual clearance request

You may be asked by individuals or their agents to confirm in advance whether a particular investment will qualify. Note that there is no statutory clearance procedure but Inspectors should offer whatever assistance they can in response to such requests.

It is important not to give a categorical assurance that any proposed investment will qualify. That can only be judged after the investment has been made and all the relevant information is available. Inspectors should therefore give any provisional opinion only “on the basis of the information available” and subject to review if and when a claim for relief is made.

Any enquiry about the qualifying status of a particular company should not be answered. The investor should be advised to ask an officer of the company itself. The company may consult the Venture Capital Reliefs Team to find out its qualifying status, see VCM14030 onwards. Any advice to a taxpayer about a company may be divulging confidential information.