On 12 October 2011 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published important updates to the Tonnage Tax Manual.
By way of preface, the tonnage tax regime as expressed in UK primary and secondary legislation does not address all circumstances that arise in practice. Certain definitions and clarifications are only to be found in HMRC guidance, i.e. the Tonnage Tax Manual. Parts of the guidance in the Manual merely précis the legislation but on occasion HMRC have amended other parts of the guidance without warning or consultation.
