ABOUT THIS STRATEGY

We are committed to being a responsible business, and core to this is our commitment to comply with tax legislation in each country in which we operate and paying in full all taxes that are due.

OVERVIEW OF OUR BUSINESS

HydraB Power Limited is headquartered in the United Kingdom with majority interests in trading companies accelerating the transition to Net Zero, principally the production and repowering of low emission buses and in the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen for power.  Our strategy is to grow businesses in this specialised industry and take our innovative solutions to the global market.  

AIMS AND SCOPE

This Tax Strategy (“Strategy”) aims to support HydraB Power’s worldwide business operations and provide for compliance with the applicable tax legislation in the countries in which we operate.  This Strategy applies to all taxes (both direct and indirect) in the countries in which we operate, as well as the directors, employees and third parties (including external advisors and service providers) whose actions affect our tax affairs.

APPROACH TO WORKING WITH TAX AUTHORITIES

HydraB Power is committed to maintaining a good working relationship with tax authorities (including HMRC) based on compliance, transparency, co-operation and proactive engagement to minimise tax risk.  Specific aspects of our approach to tax authorities in relation to tax compliance and tax planning are described further below.

TAX COMPLIANCE

HydraB Power is committed to compliance with the tax legislation in all countries in which we operate.  Compliance for us means paying in full and in a timely manner all taxes that are due.  The Group’s commitment to paying its tax liabilities takes into account any incentives and reliefs that are made available by the relevant tax authorities.  A requirement of our commitment is that full disclosure will be promptly made to the tax authorities if errors arise in relation to our tax liabilities.

TAX PLANNING

HydraB Power is focussed on undertaking commercial transactions, be it acquisitions of businesses, working with strategic partners and entering new markets to meet our desire to aid the transition to net zero, both in the UK and worldwide.  In doing this, transactions will be structured in a tax-efficient fashion. Specifically, this means that HydraB Power will not engage in tax-motivated transactions or put in place arrangements that are contrived or artificial.  

The HydraB Power Group’s tax risk management process is conducted by in-house qualified tax professionals who monitor and manage tax risks.  Tax uncertainties are monitored, documented and reported to the Group Executive on a regular basis.  In the event of any material uncertainty or complexity in respect of any identified risks, external advice is obtained as a matter of course.

Where we operate cross-border with locally managed operating companies, we ensure that this is in line with transfer pricing policies to ensure that transfers of goods and services between Group companies are on an arm’s length basis.

RISK MANAGEMENT

We believe that HydraB Power’s tax risks occur in the following areas:

• Transactional – the application of tax laws to specific transactions.
• Compliance – our tax accounting arrangements (including recording transactions) and processes for making tax payments, filing tax returns and responding to questions from tax authorities.
• Operational – arising from our routine, everyday business operations.
• Financial accounting – the process for arriving at the tax balances included in the Group’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Although the group does not have rigid levels of acceptable tax risk, we seek to operate on a low tax risk basis and will not engage in transactions that are considered to be high risk, contrived or artificial.  When considering tax risk, the group takes into account our corporate and social responsibilities, any impacts on our relationships with tax authorities and on our reputation. 

Day to day delivery of the Strategy rests with the Group Tax and Structuring Head, which supports our worldwide business operations in their tax matters and works closely with our external advisors and HMRC. 

The publication of this Group tax strategy complies with the requirements of Paragraph 16(2), Paragraph 19(2) and Paragraph 22(2) of Schedule 19 of Finance Act 2016 for the year ending 31 December 2025.