HM Revenue and Customs have made a quiet announcement in a few paragraphs to remove the draconian retrospective effect that the original notice gave in 2014 regarding loans remitted to the UK where they have used overseas assets as collateral.

Although HMRC gave until 5 April 2016 to unwind or replace this borrowing, it was seen as unfair to penalise individuals who had followed HMRC’s stance at the time and had, in good faith, followed their interpretation and organised their affairs accordingly.

HMRC’s announcement in August 2014, changed their interpretation of the legislation and, as mentioned previously, the only transitional relief for those who had already taken out such a loan was a long period of time to unwind or replace the arrangement.

Common sense has prevailed and the representations that have been going on for some time have finally borne fruit and the announcement last week has stated that anyone whose loan was brought to or used in the UK before 4 August 2014 will not need to be repay or replace that loan.  Note, it is the date the loan proceeds were brought to/used in the UK, not the date the loan was taken out that is relevant for these purposes.

Any loan proceeds brought to/used in the UK after 3 August 2014 will still fall within HMRC’s change of practice and anyone unsure how they may be affected by these changes should take advice to check their position.