§ Mr. Hal Miller asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he proposes to amend the present valuation rules which discriminate against deals not at arm's length in the case of ethane for petrochemical use.
§ Mr. Ridley:I agree that the present rules cannot be justified in view of the special technical difficulties which exist in the case of ethane. We propose therefore to introduce legislation in the 1982 Finance Bill to put long term inter-affiliate deals in ethane for petrochemical use on to a similar basis, so far as possible, to comparable arm's length deals.
The details of the proposed legislation will be subject to consultation between the Inland Revenue and the oil industry.