Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 172BA

Obligation on certain persons to obtain tax reference numbers of persons beneficially entitled to relevant distributions

Section 172BA requires those involved in paying distributions (dividends) to obtain and retain the tax reference number of each person beneficially entitled to receive those distributions, with effect from 1 January 2021. Section 172BA provides for an obligation on companies and AWAs to obtain and keep a record of tax reference numbers of persons beneficially entitled to relevant distributions, in advance of making such a distribution. The obligation applies in respect of relevant distributions made on or after 1 January 2021. However, following the announcement in May 2020 to postpone the introduction of DWT real-time reporting, the obligation to obtain tax reference numbers is currently suspended.

• Before making a distribution, the payer must take all reasonable steps to obtain the tax reference number of each person beneficially entitled to the distribution and must keep that number on record.
• The obligation falls on whoever is the last link in the payment chain — whether that is the company itself, an authorised withholding agent, a qualifying intermediary, or any other person through whom the distribution passes.
• Normal record-keeping requirements under section 886 apply to these tax reference number records.
• The ultimate payer must comply with EU GDPR data protection principles (Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679) when collecting and storing these tax reference numbers.

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