OT44550 - Non-Residents Working on the UK Continental Shelf: Notification of Payments to Third Parties - Legislation
FA2011\Sch23 authorises an officer of HMRC to issue a data-holder notice to a relevant data-holder requiring the provision of relevant data. Paragraph 23 provides that for petroleum activities a “relevant data-holder” is either the holder of a license granted under Part 1 of the Petroleum Act 1998 or the responsible person for an oil field (within the meaning of OTA75). “Relevant data” means data of a kind specified in regulations made by the Treasury.
SI2012\857, Data-gathering Powers (Relevant Data) Regulations 2012, came into force on 1st April 2012. Paragraph 21 deals with “relevant data” for petroleum activities. Relevant data is defined as:
- Particulars of transactions in connection with any activities authorised by a petroleum license as a result of which any person is or might be liable to tax by virtue of TCGA92\S276, CTA09\S1313 or ITTOIA05\S874;
- Particulars of earnings or money treated as earnings, which constitute employment income or other payments paid or payable in respect of duties or services performed in an area in which those activities may be carried on under the petroleum licence;
- Particulars of the persons to whom such earnings, money or other payments were paid and are payable;
- Information and documents relating to the oil field.
A data-holder notice could therefore call for details of payments made by the oil company to its contractors, by these contractors to their sub-contractors and so on, and by contractors and sub-contractors to their employees.
However, by agreement with the oil industry the data-holder requirements are modified (see OT44700 below). The requirements are kept under review and are open to modification or change as circumstances require.