Revenue Note for Guidance
Besides meeting the conditions in section 705B, a company or group cannot become a REIT or group REIT unless it notifies Revenue of its intention to be a REIT or group REIT.
(1) & (2) In order to be regarded as a REIT or group REIT, a company, or a principal company in the case of a group, must submit a notice to Revenue.
(3) The notice must be in writing and specify a date, which cannot be earlier than 1 January 2013 or the date of the notice, from which the company or group will become a REIT or group REIT. In the case of a group REIT, the notice must include all the members of the group and specify which members are to be designated as REITs.
(3A) On each occasion that a new member company is added to the group, the principal company of the group REIT must submit an amended notice to Revenue within 30 days of the date on which the company becomes a member of the group. The amended notice must be in writing and specify the date, which cannot be earlier than the date of the amended notice, from which the company is to be a member of the group REIT and contain a statement that each of the conditions in section 705B(1)(b) is reasonably expected to be met at the end of the accounting period in which the amended notice is given.
(4) The company or group will be regarded as being a REIT or group REIT from the date, on or after 1 January 2013 as specified in the notice given under this section, and from which date it meets or is regarded as having met the conditions in section 705B.
Relevant Date: Finance Act 2019