CG73996P - UK property rich collective investment vehicles: Key definitions and terms: Meaning of ‘offshore collective investment vehicle’

The rules in Schedule 5AAA have effect for particular purposes according to whether a CIV is an ‘offshore collective investment vehicle’ and whether it is ‘UK property rich’. These key terms are defined in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Schedule (respectively).

Parts of Schedule 5AAA have relevance even where a CIV is not an ‘offshore CIV’ – for example, as regards the treatment of non-resident investors in UK REITs or UK property authorised investment funds (PAIFs).

Offshore collective investment vehicle

The meaning of an offshore CIV is in TCGA92/SCH5AAA/para 2(1) and is any CIV, as defined in TCGA92/SCH5AAA/para 1(1) (see CG73996N), where –

• if it is a body corporate, it is resident outside of the UK;
• if it is a unit trust, all of the trustees are resident outside of the UK; and
• if it is a co-ownership arrangement, the arrangements take effect as a result of the law of a territory outside of the UK (the term co-ownership is not restricted to having any particular meaning in UK law; as examples, it would include Luxembourg or French fonds commun du placement (FCPs), and Irish common contractual funds (CCFs)).

This is a key concept as (subject to applicable conditions) only an offshore CIV can be the subject of an election for transparency or exemption – see CG73997P and CG73998J respectively. Note, though, that limited partnership collective investment schemes, including UK LPs, and UK co-ownership authorised contractual schemes (CoACS), can make an exemption election in respect of companies in their ownership chain, which are not CIVs themselves - see CG73998S.