Section 251 | Approved knowledge-intensive fund as nominee
From legislation.gov.uk
16 September 2026
(1)This section applies if an individual claims EIS relief in respect of shares in a company at a time when—F1F2
(a)the shares have been issued to the managers of an approved knowledge-intensive fund as nominee for the individual,F3
(b)the fund has closed, that is to say, no further investments in the fund are to be accepted, ...F4
(c)the amounts which the managers have, as nominee for the individual, subscribed for shares issued within 12 months after the closing of the fund represent at least 50% of the individual's investment in the fund.F5F6
(d)the amounts which the managers have, as nominee for the individual, subscribed for shares issued within 24 months after the closing of the fund represent at least 90% of the individual’s investment in the fund,F7
(e)within that 24 month period at least 80% of the individual’s investment in the fund is represented by shares in companies which are knowledge-intensive companies at the time the shares are issued, andF7
(f)the managers have met such conditions with respect to the provision of information to HMRC Commissioners as the Commissioners consider appropriate for the purposes of this section.F7
...
(1A)In this section “the managers of an approved knowledge-intensive fund” means the person or persons having the management of an investment fund—F8
(a)which is, in the opinion of HMRC Commissioners, a fund established for the purpose of investing wholly, or substantially wholly, in shares in companies which are knowledge-intensive companies at the time the shares are issued, andF8
(b)which is, having met such other conditions as HMRC Commissioners consider appropriate for the purposes of this section, approved by them for those purposes.F8
(2)... Section 158 (form and amount of EIS relief) and section 201 (attribution of EIS relief to shares) have effect as if—F9
(a)any reference to the tax year or other period in which the shares are issued were a reference to the tax year or other period in which the fund closes, and
(b)any reference to the time of the issue of the shares, or the time of the subscription for the shares, were a reference to the time of the closing of the fund.
(2A)Accordingly, in a case where section 158 has effect with the modifications in subsection (2), the reference in section 158(4) to the issue of the shares in the preceding tax year is to the issue of the shares in the tax year preceding the tax year in which the fund closes (and references elsewhere in this Part to the issue of shares in a previous tax year are to be read accordingly).F10
(3)RepealedF11
(4)If an individual claims EIS relief in respect of shares in a company which have been issued to the managers of an approved knowledge-intensive fund as nominee for the individual, section 203(1) (entitlement to claim) applies as if —F12
(a)it required the certificate referred to in that section to be issued by the company to the managers, and
(b)it provided that no claim for EIS relief may be made unless the person making the claim has received from the managers a certificate issued by the managers in accordance with subsection (5).
(5)A certificate is issued in accordance with this subsection if—
(a)it certifies that the managers hold compliance certificates issued to them by the companies concerned, for the purposes of section 203(1), in respect of the holding of shares shown on the managers' certificate, and
(b)it is in such form as HMRC Commissioners may authorise.F13
(6)The managers of an approved knowledge-intensive fund may be required by a notice given to them by an officer of Revenue and Customs to deliver to the officer, within the time limited by the notice, a return of the holdings of shares shown on certificates issued by them in accordance with subsection (5) in the tax year to which the return relates.F14
(7)Section 207 (penalties for fraudulent certificate or statement etc) does not apply in relation to any certificate issued by the managers of an approved knowledge-intensive fund for the purposes of subsection (4).F15
(8)In this section “HMRC Commissioners” means the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.F16