Guidance: Apply for advance assurance on a venture capital scheme

Asking HMRC if they agree that an investment would meet the conditions of a venture capital scheme is called advance assurance. You can use this to show potential investors that an investment may qualify for a scheme. It will not tell you if an investor would meet the conditions of the scheme.

You’ll need to make separate applications for each proposed investment that you want advance assurance for.

There is no longer an advance assurance service for Social Investment Tax Relief as the scheme is only available for investments made on or before 5 April 2023.

Investors

Any advance assurance given to a company using the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Enterprise Investment Scheme is only in respect of certain conditions of the venture capital schemes being met based on the information provided by the company.

It should not be taken as a more general endorsement or as an indication of potential investment performance. Investors should consider conducting their own due diligence before proceeding with an investment.

Before you apply

You can apply for advance assurance for the following venture capital schemes, but you should check the conditions for each of them:

• Enterprise Investment Scheme
• Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme
• Venture Capital Trust

You’ll usually need to give details of your potential investors for us to consider your application.

You can also check when we will not consider an application for the Enterprise Investment Scheme, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Venture Capital Trust.

Who can apply

You can complete an application if you are:

• the company secretary
• a director
• a trustee — if the social enterprise is a charitable trust
• an agent

You can authorise an agent to apply on your behalf. They’ll need to:

• add a signed letter — dated within the last 3 months
• confirm the company’s authorisation to act on their behalf with every new application

What you’ll need

For all schemes

You’ll need to include:

• how much money you plan to raise
• the business plan and financial forecasts
• a copy of the latest accounts if available
• companies that will use the investments
• details of all trading and activities and how much you expect to spend on each
• an up to date copy of the memorandum and articles of association, and details of any changes you expect to make
• a copy of the register of members from the date you apply for advance assurance
• the latest draft of any documents you use to explain your proposal to potential investors
• details of any other agreements between the company and the shareholders or Venture Capital Trust
• a signed letter from one of your directors or trustees — if you get an agent to act on your behalf
• any other documents to show you qualify for the scheme

If you’ve not used a venture capital scheme before you will have to give details of your potential investors.

For Enterprise Investment Schemes, Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes and Venture Capital Trusts

You’ll also need to tell us how you meet the risk to capital condition. Even if you have used the schemes before, this may mean you need to include the details of your potential investors.

You’ll need to tell us (for Enterprise Investment Schemes and Venture Capital Trusts) how the money will be used for the growth and development of your company.

If you’ve not used these schemes before

For Venture Capital Trusts, you’ll need to tell us both the:

• trusts that plan to invest
• name of their fund managers

If you’re applying for Enterprise Investment Scheme or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and your company or social enterprise:

• is raising money directly from investors — you must give the name and address of any prospective investors
• is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) — you do not need to give investor information
• plans to list on Alternative Investment Market— you must give the name and registration number of the nominated adviser that supports its listing
• seeks investment through a fund manager or business promoter — you must give evidence that they’ve agreed to act on your behalf and will continue to work with you
• seeks investment through a crowdfunding platform — you must give evidence that they’ve accepted your proposal and will continue to work with you

Apply online for advance assurance

You can sign in with your Government Gateway user ID and password. Or you can use your email address and we’ll send a confirmation code so you can sign in.

Start now

What happens next

HMRC will contact you when they make a decision.

If you’re given advance assurance

1. We’ll send you a statement saying the investment is likely to qualify, which you can show to your investors.

2. You’ll need to submit a compliance statement to use the scheme if you go ahead with the investment.

3. Tell us about any changes since you completed your advance assurance application when you submit the statement — otherwise the assurance will no longer apply.

4. We’ll give you permission to issue certificates to investors, so that they can claim tax relief — you do not need to raise the full amount of investment you included in your application.

If you’re not given advance assurance

We’ll tell you why we think your application does not meet the conditions of the scheme.

Further information

If you have further questions about your application you can email: enterprise.centre@hmrc.gov.uk.

We do not handle claims by investors to Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax relief under any of the 4 schemes or for claims to Shares Loss Relief. These are handled by the tax office dealing with those claims.