Finance Act 1987

Part I Section to be Inserted after Section 5A of the Principal Act

“5B Allowance of research expenditure.

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and Schedule 7 to this Act, the research expenditure which is allowable in the case of a person who is a participator in an oil field is any expenditure (whether or not of a capital nature) which—

(a) is incurred by him on or after 17th March 1987; and

(b) at the expiry of the period of three years from the time at which it was incurred, has not become allowable under section 3 or section 4 of this Act or section 3 of the [1983 c. 56.] Oil Taxation Act 1983; and

(c) was not incurred for purposes relating to a particular oil field; and

(d) was not incurred wholly and exclusively for one or more of the purposes which, subject to subsection (2) below, are specified in section 5A(2) of this Act; and

(e) was incurred for the purpose of research of such a description that, if it had been incurred by the participator in relation to a particular field, it would have been allowable for that field under section 3 or section 4 of this Act or section 3 of the Oil Taxation Act 1983; and

(f) was incurred wholly or partly for United Kingdom purposes.

(2) For the purposes only of subsection (1)(d) above, any reference in section 5A(2) of this Act to the territorial sea of the United Kingdom shall be taken to include a reference to the United Kingdom itself.

(3) Where expenditure falling within paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (1) above is incurred partly for United Kingdom purposes and partly for other purposes, only such part of the expenditure as it is just and reasonable to apportion to United Kingdom purposes shall be allowable by virtue of this section.

(4) In subsections (1)(f) and (3) above, "United Kingdom purposes" means purposes relating to the United Kingdom, the territorial sea thereof or designated areas, excluding any sector which, by virtue of subsection (3)(b) of section 107 of the [1980 c. 48.] Finance Act 1980 (transmedian fields), is deemed to be a designated area.

(5) Expenditure is not allowable under this section if, or to the extent that, it has been allowed under Schedule 5, Schedule 6 or Schedule 7 to this Act for or in connection with an oil field.

(6) To the extent that it is reasonable to assume that expenditure which, apart from this subsection, would be allowable under this section has been incurred for purposes relating to excluded oil, within the meaning of section 10(1) of this Act, that expenditure is not allowable under this section.

(7) Subject to subsection (3) above, subsections (2) and (6) of section 5 of this Act apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section except that—

(a) any reference in subsection (2) of section 5 to the purpose mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of that section shall be construed as a reference to the purpose referred to in subsection (1)(e) of this section;

(b) the reference in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) to subsection (1) of that section shall be construed as a reference to subsection (1) of this section; and

(c) where any expenditure falls to be apportioned under subsection (3) of this section, any receipt to which it gives rise shall be similarly apportioned in the application of subsection (6) of section 5.

(8) Paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to this Act applies in relation to this section as it applies in relation to sections 3 and 4 of this Act.”