Statutory guidance: Notices made under Schedule 10 of Finance Act 2022 Public Interest Business Protection Tax

On 28 January 2022, the Government announced that it was introducing a new tax (the Public Interest Business Protection Tax) in the Finance Act 2022.

The tax is to counter the risk that persons that hold derivative contracts and other assets on which energy supply businesses rely, receive profits from those assets while the supply businesses that rely on those assets go into special measures or suffer increased costs while in special measures. This would result in the Government and energy customers suffer the resulting loss while companies profit, which would be unacceptable to Government.

Find out more from the technical note on Public Interest Business Protection Tax.

A return is due under this section where a person becomes liable to Public Interest Business Protection Tax because they — or persons connected with them — have taken disqualifying steps in relation to assets held by them, wholly or partly, for the use or benefit of a Public Interest Business (for example, licensed energy suppliers). The tax is expected to apply to a very small number of taxpayers.

These steps are disqualifying if they result in the asset not being available for the use or benefit of the business to any extent and where this materially contributes to the business entering special measures such as being transferred to a Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) or entering a Special Administration Regime (SAR).

The charge under the Public Interest Business Protection Tax applies separately to each asset, to each person holding an asset taking the steps, and in respect of each public interest business that enters special measures. However, if a person holds a collection of assets for which disqualifying steps are taken, we are content for them to make one return for those assets. They will need to make a separate return if they become liable to the tax in respect of further assets.

The attached notice sets out information and documents that need to be included in a return filed under Paragraph 8 of the Public Interest Business Protection Tax.

If the person liable has a customer compliance manager, they should send the return to them. In other cases, returns should be sent to the Sector Lead for the Utilities Sector in Large Business at the following address: