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18A.2.6.1 Works Bus Service |
ITEPA section 242 (section TA 1988, section 197AA) removes any charge to tax under the benefits code if an employer provides a works bus service.57 The bus must have a seating capacity of 12 or more (so excluding minibuses).58 The service must be one for conveying employees on qualifying journeys; the employees may belong to one or more employers.59 Journeys qualify not only if they are between one workplace and another but also, and in complete contrast to the rules in section 338, between home and workplace.60 In either case the journey must be in connection with the performance of the duties of the office or employment, and the service must be available to employees generally.61 |
ITEPA also requires that the service must be used only or substantially only by employees or their children.62 This means that the exemption will not be lost just because the bus is used for some other occasional purpose. It is necessary, however, to distinguish the service from the bus itself. If the bus is used for qualifying journeys and for separate non—qualifying journeys there will be a charge for the latter; if, however, there are non—qualifying aspects to a single journey there will be a charge unless the substantial compliance condition is satisfied. The reference to children allows the bus to be used for getting children to school, but is not confined to that.63 |
18A.2.6.2 Support for Public Transport |
ITEPA section 243 (ex TA 1988, section 197AB) removes any charge under the benefits code where an employer provides financial or other support for a public transport bus service. Again, the employees may belong to one or more |