Making payment

We appreciate that employer pension contributions are deducted for corporation tax purposes on a ‘paid’ basis in accordance with FA 2004
s 196(2) but could readers help with what exactly ‘paid’ means?

The reason for our asking this question is because we have a client company that passed a cheque to its pension provider shortly before its year-end in the expectation that a contribution was being made before the year-end.

However on subsequently checking its bank statement it seems the cheque didn’t clear until after the year-end. The contribution has therefore been dealt with within its accounts as an outstanding cheque rather than as a creditor/liability. Does this mean that relief for the contribution is not due in the year in which the cheque was written; but instead is due in the subsequent year in which it was...