Section 276 | The territorial sea and the continental shelf.

(1)The territorial sea of the United Kingdom shall for all purposes of the taxation of chargeable gains (including the following provisions of this section) be deemed to be part of the United Kingdom.

(2)In this section—

(a)“exploration or exploitation activities” means activities carried on in connection with the exploration or exploitation of so much of the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources as is situated in the United Kingdom or a designated area; and

(b)“exploration or exploitation rights” means rights to assets to be produced by exploration or exploitation activities or to interests in or to the benefit of such assets; and

(c)references to the disposal of exploration or exploitation rights include references to the disposal of shares deriving their value or the greater part of their value directly or indirectly from such rights, other than shares listed on a recognised stock exchange; and^F1

(d)“shares” includes stock and any security as defined in section 1117(1) of CTA 2010; and^F2

(e)“designated area” means an area designated by Order in Council under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.

(3)Any gains accruing on the disposal of exploration or exploitation rights shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as gains accruing on the disposal of assets situated in the United Kingdom.

(4)Gains accruing on the disposal of—

(a)exploration or exploitation assets which are situated in a designated area, or

(b)unquoted shares deriving their value or the greater part of their value directly or indirectly from exploration or exploitation assets situated in the United Kingdom or a designated area or from such assets and exploration or exploitation rights taken together,

shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as gains accruing on the disposal of assets situated in the United Kingdom.

(5)For the purposes of this section, an asset disposed of is an exploration or exploitation asset if either—

(a)it is not a mobile asset and it is being or has at some time been used in connection with exploration or exploitation activities carried on in the United Kingdom or a designated area; or

(b)it is a mobile asset which has at some time been used in connection with exploration or exploitation activities so carried on and is dedicated to an oil field in which the person making the disposal, or a person connected with him, is or has been a participator;

and expressions used in paragraphs (a) and (b) above have the same meaning as if those paragraphs were included in Part I of the Oil Taxation Act 1975.

(6)In subsection (4)(b) above “unquoted shares” means shares other than those which are listed on a recognised stock exchange; and references in subsections (7) and (8) below to exploration or exploitation assets include references to unquoted shares falling within subsection (4)(b).^F3

(7)Gains accruing to a person not resident in the United Kingdom on the disposal of exploration or exploitation rights or of exploration or exploitation assets shall, for the purposes of capital gains tax or corporation tax on chargeable gains, be treated as gains accruing on the disposal of assets used for the purposes of a trade carried on by that person in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency.

(8)The provisions specified in subsection (9) below shall apply in relation to a disposal of exploration or exploitation rights or exploration or exploitation assets if (and only if) the disposal is—^F4

(a)by a company resident in a territory outside the United Kingdom to a company resident in the same territory,^F4

(b)by a company resident in the United Kingdom to another company which is so resident, or^F4

(c)by a company which is not resident in the United Kingdom to another company which is resident there.^F4

(9)Those provisions are—^F4

(a)section 41(8),^F4

(b)section 171 (except subsections (1)(b) and (1A)),^F4

(c)section 173 (with the omission of the words “to which this section applies" in subsections (1)(a) and (2)(a) and “such" in subsections (1)(c) and (2)(c) and with the omission of subsection (3)),^F4

(d)section 174(4) (with the substitution of “at a time when both were members of the group" for “in a transfer to which section 171(1) applied”),^F4

(e)section 179 (except subsections (1)(b) and (1A)), and^F4

(f)section 181.^F4

(10)The provisions specified in subsection (9) above shall apply in accordance with subsection (8) above with the following modifications—^F4

(a)for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (9) above, section 41(8) applies as if section 170 applied, for the purposes of section 171, with the omission of subsection (9), and^F4

(b)for the purposes of paragraphs (b) to (f) of subsection (9) above, the provisions specified in those paragraphs apply as if in section 170 subsection (9) were omitted.^F4