10.—The following section is inserted after section 12A (inserted by this Act) of the Principal Act:

“12B.—(1) Neither—

(a) the requirement of any scheme to make a return or returns, in so far as the return or returns would relate to the period of 6 months beginning on the date referred to hereafter in this section, nor

(b) the other provisions of any scheme, in respect of the period of 36 months beginning on that date,

shall apply to an undertaking (other than a restricted membership undertaking) if, before the date on which it commences the carrying on of a health insurance business (‘the commencement date’), it serves a notice on the Authority or, if the establishment day is subsequent to the commencement date, the Minister, stating that it does not wish—

(i) that requirement to make a return or returns relating to the period of 6 months beginning on the commencement date, and

(ii) the other provisions of any scheme, in respect of the period of 36 months beginning on the commencement date,

to apply to it.

(2) Where an undertaking serves a notice under and in accordance with subsection (1), any returns made by the undertaking pursuant to a scheme during the period referred to in paragraph (ii) of that subsection shall be disregarded by the Authority in determining any payments under the provision of the scheme referred to in section 12(4)(a).

(3) As respects 2 or more registered undertakings which are associated companies of one another, only one of those undertakings may serve a notice under and in accordance with subsection (1).

(4) In determining, for the purposes of this section, whether one company is an associated company of another company, section 432 and the other relevant provisions of Part 13 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, shall apply.

(5) In this section, ‘company’ has the same meaning as it has in the Corporation Tax Acts.”.