CREC010300 - Overview and definitions: co-productions

Films and TV programmes may be produced as part of a qualifying co-production. In these cases, the definition of a production company is modified. 

A qualifying co-production is a film or TV programme that is treated as a national film or TV programme in the United Kingdom under an agreement between the UK Government and any other government, international organisation or authority. 

Like other films and TV programmes, a co-production must be certified as British in order to be eligible for AVEC.


Production companies for co-productions 

Production companies which are co-producers do not have to meet the full list of requirements set out in CREC010200. 

Instead, the company must: 

  • be a co-producer of the co-production

  • make an effective creative, technical and artistic contribution to the film or programme. 

A co-producer is a person who is a co-producer under a qualifying co-production agreement.


More than one UK co-producer 

There cannot be more than one production company in relation to a film or TV programme. This rule applies to co-productions as it does to other films and TV programmes. 

In some cases, there may be more than one UK company involved in making a co-production under one of the international co-production agreements. In such circumstances, the company which makes a greater creative, technical or artistic contribution to the production than any other company will be treated as the production company for the film or TV programme. 

The company which makes a greater contribution will be a matter of fact, which will be determined on a case-by-case basis. 

In applying this rule, only the activities of the UK co-producers are taken into account. Where there is one co-producer in the UK and another overseas, the UK co-producer will be the production company for the purposes of AVEC, even where the overseas co-producer is more actively engaged in the production as a whole.


Minimum UK expenditure 

For the application of the minimum 10% UK expenditure requirement to co-productions, please see CREC029000.


Attribution of expenditure between co-producers 

Where a production company was involved in a co-production, HMRC would expect the arrangements between the co-producers to be such that each co-producer bore the expenditure for which they were ultimately responsible, and that the accounts of the production company’s separate trade (CREC031000) reflected that same division of responsibility. 

If the arrangements between the co-producers were such that the accounts of the production company’s trade included expenditure that was ultimately attributable to another co-producer but was incurred by the production company, HMRC could be expected to critically test whether the expenditure should be: 

  • excluded from the costs of the film or TV programme because they are not incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of the FPC’s separate trade (see CREC037100 and section 1179BB(6) of CTA 2009), and/or 

  • disregarded for the purposes of determining the amount of any expenditure credit because the arrangements have been structured in such way as to increase the amount of credit to which the production company is entitled (see CREC056000 and section 1179CI of CTA 2009).


Co-productions made outside of official agreements 

The special rule for companies making co-productions does not apply in the case of films and TV programmes made outside the terms of the UK’s official co-production agreements. In such cases, a UK co-producer can only qualify for AVEC by meeting in full the requirements for a production company set out in CREC010200.


Video games 

There are no qualifying co-production provisions for video games. A company co-producing a video game can only qualify for VGEC by meeting in full the requirements for a development company set out in CREC010200.