(1) Where immediately before the relevant date a company was authorised by a provision of its articles to apply its unrealised profits in paying up in full or in part unissued shares to be allotted to members of the company as fully or partly paid bonus shares, that provision continues (subject to any alteration of the articles) as authority for those profits to be so applied after that date.
(2) For this purpose the relevant date is -
(a) for companies registered in Great Britain, 22nd December 1980;
(b) for companies registered in Northern Ireland, 1st July 1983.