Section 444 | Joint venture companies ^F1

(1)This section makes modifications of this Part in relation to an accounting period of a qualifying infrastructure company (“the joint venture company”) which is the ultimate parent of a worldwide group at all times in that period where—^F1F2

(a)one or more qualifying infrastructure companies (“the qualifying investor or investors”) have shares in the joint venture company,^F1

(b)other persons (“the other investors”) who are not qualifying infrastructure companies have all the other shares in the joint venture company,^F1

(c)each of the investors (that is to say, the qualifying investor or investors and the other investors) has lent money to the joint venture company,^F1

(d)the amounts each of the investors has lent stand in the same, or substantially the same, proportion as the shares in the joint venture company that each of them has,^F1

(e)at all times in the accounting period the investors have the same rights in relation to the shares in or assets of the joint venture company and the same rights in relation to the money debt or debts in question, and^F1

(f)the joint venture company makes an election for the purposes of this section that has effect for the accounting period (but see section 445 for further provision about elections).^F1

(2)Section 401 has effect as if the qualifying investor or investors were not investors in the group for times in the accounting period falling in the relevant period of account.^F1

(3)Section 427 has effect as if, in determining the appropriate proportion in relation to an associated worldwide group, it is assumed that the qualifying investor or investors were not investors in the group for times in the accounting period falling in the relevant period of account.^F1

(4)In consequence of subsection (2) or (3), the shares of the qualifying investor or investors in the group are treated as distributed for times in the accounting period falling in the relevant period of account among the other investors in proportion to the actual shares of the other investors in the group.^F1

(5)For the purposes of section 438 there is a reduction in any amount that would otherwise qualify as an exempt amount in the accounting period where—^F1

(a)the exemption operates by reference to creditors being within subsection (3) of that section, and^F1

(b)the creditor in relation to the amount is not an investor.^F1

(6)The amount qualifying as an exempt amount is to be reduced so that only the qualifying proportion of it qualifies.^F1

(7)For the purposes of this section—^F1

“the qualifying proportion” means the proportion of the shares that the qualifying investor or investors have in the joint venture company in the accounting period, and

“the non-qualifying proportion” means the proportion of the shares that the other investors have in the joint venture company in the accounting period.

(8)The treatment mentioned in section 440(2) is to extend only to the qualifying proportion of the tax-interest income amounts in the accounting period.^F1

(9)Section 441(2) has effect as if the tax-EBITDA of the company for the accounting period were the amount determined as follows.^F1

Step 1 Find the tax-EBIDTA of the company for the accounting period if section 441 were ignored.

Step 2 The tax-EBITDA of the company for the accounting period is equal to the non-qualifying proportion of that amount.

(10)Section 442(3) has effect as if for the words “the group did not include the company” there were substituted “ amounts of the company were limited to the non-qualifying proportion of those amounts ”.^F1