Section 264 | Relief for local constituency associations of political parties on reorganisation of constituencies.

(1)In this section “relevant date” means the date of coming into operation of an Order in Council under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (orders specifying new parliamentary constituencies) and, in relation to any relevant date—

(a)“former parliamentary constituency” means an area which, for the purposes of parliamentary elections, was a constituency immediately before that date but is no longer such a constituency after that date; and

(b)“new parliamentary constituency” means an area which, for the purposes of parliamentary elections, is a constituency immediately after that date but was not such a constituency before that date.

(2)In this section “local constituency association” means an unincorporated association (whether described as an association, a branch or otherwise) whose primary purpose is to further the aims of a political party in an area which at any time is or was the same or substantially the same as the area of a parliamentary constituency or 2 or more parliamentary constituencies and, in relation to any relevant date—

(a)“existing association” means a local constituency association whose area was the same, or substantially the same, as the area of a former parliamentary constituency or 2 or more such constituencies; and

(b)“new association” means a local constituency association whose area is the same, or substantially the same, as the area of a new parliamentary constituency or 2 or more such constituencies.

(3)For the purposes of this section, a new association is a successor to an existing association if any part of the existing association’s area is comprised in the new association’s area.

(4)In any case where, before, on or after a relevant date—

(a)an existing association disposes of land to a new association which is a successor to the existing association, or

(b)an existing association disposes of land to a body (whether corporate or unincorporated) which is an organ of the political party concerned and, as soon as practicable thereafter, that body disposes of the land to a new association which is a successor to the existing association,

the parties to the disposal or, where paragraph (b) above applies, to each of the disposals, shall be treated for the purposes of tax on chargeable gains as if the land disposed of were acquired from the existing association or the body making the disposal for a consideration of such an amount as would secure that on the disposal neither a gain nor a loss accrued to that association or body.

(5)In a case falling within subsection (4) above, the new association shall be treated for the purposes of Schedule 2 as if the acquisition by the existing association of the land disposed of as mentioned in that subsection had been the new association’s acquisition of it.

(6)In any case where—

(a)before, on or after a relevant date, an existing association disposes of any land which was used and occupied by it for the purposes of its functions, and

(b)the existing association transfers the whole or part of the proceeds of the disposal to a new association which is a successor to the existing association,

then, subject to subsection (7) below, this Act (and, in particular, the provisions of sections 152 to 158) shall have effect as if, since the time it was acquired by the existing association, the land disposed of had been the property of the new association and, accordingly, as if the disposal of it had been by the new association.

(7)If, in a case falling within subsection (6) above, only part of the proceeds of the disposal is transferred to the new association, that subsection shall apply—

(a)as if there existed in the land disposed of as mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection a separate asset in the form of a corresponding undivided share in that land, and subject to any necessary apportionments of consideration for an acquisition or disposal of, or of an interest in, that land; and

(b)as if the references in that subsection (other than paragraph (a) thereof) to the land disposed of and the disposal of it were references respectively to the corresponding undivided share referred to in paragraph (a) above and the disposal of that share;

and for this purpose a corresponding undivided share in the land disposed of is a share which bears to the whole of that land the same proportion as the part of the proceeds transferred bears to the whole of those proceeds.

(8)In this section “political party” means a political party which qualifies for exemption under section 24 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (gifts to political parties).