Finance Act 1994

232 Restriction on electing participator’s allowable expenditure on elected assets

(1) This section has effect in relation to expenditure which is incurred on an asset to which an election applies; and in this section “allowable or allowed”, in relation to any expenditure, means allowable or allowed under any of the expenditure relief provisions.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, in the case of expenditure incurred before the date of the election, the amount which, apart from this section, would be allowable or allowed in the case of the electing participator shall be reduced by multiplying it by the initial usage fraction.

(3) Subject to subsection (5) below, in the case of expenditure incurred on or after the date of the election, the amount which, apart from this section, would be allowable or allowed in the case of the electing participator shall be reduced to nil.

(4) Where, after 30th November 1993 and before the date of the election, expenditure was incurred on an asset to which the election applies and—

(a) apart from this section, that expenditure would have qualified for supplement by virtue of paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of section 3 of the principal Act, and

(b) the effect of the expenditure is to increase the maximum capacity of the pipe-line by reference to which the election was made above its design capacity or to increase the capacity of any asset used or to be used for the initial treatment or initial storage of oil transported by the pipe-line above its development plan capacity,

that expenditure shall be treated for the purposes of the application of subsections (2) and (3) above as if it had been incurred after the date of the election.

(5) Where, at the date of the election, an asset to which the election applies is for the time being leased or hired under a contract which was entered into before 16th March 1993, any expenditure—

(a) which is incurred on or after the date of the election on the leasing or hiring of the asset under the contract, and

(b) which is not of a description falling within paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (4) above,

shall be treated for the purposes of the application of subsections (2) and (3) above as if it had been incurred before the date of the election.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b) above, the development plan capacity of any asset used or to be used for the initial treatment or initial storage of oil transported by a pipe-line is—

(a) the maximum capacity of that asset as specified in what, on 16th March 1993, was the most recent development plan applicable to the field to which the election applies or, as the case may be, to the asset itself; or

(b) if no such maximum capacity was so specified in relation to an asset, its actual maximum capacity on that date or, if there was no such capacity on that date, nil.

(7) Where a claim under Schedule 5 or Schedule 6 to the principal Act relates to the allowance of any expenditure to which subsection (2) above applies, the amount claimed shall take account of the operation of that subsection; and where subsection (3) above applies to any expenditure, no such claim shall be made with respect to it.

(8) Where a claim has been made under Schedule 5 or Schedule 6 to the principal Act with respect to any expenditure and, subsequently, an election is made which has the effect of altering the amount of expenditure which is allowable or allowed,—

(a) a notice of variation such as is mentioned in paragraph 9 of Schedule 5 to the principal Act may be served after the end of the period referred to in sub-paragraph (1) of that paragraph if it is served before the expiry of the period of three years beginning on the date of the election; and

(b) if the effect of such a notice is that the net profit period with respect to the field to which the election applies is changed, the change shall not (by virtue of section 231(2) above) affect the validity of the election.

(9) Nothing in this section affects the determination of the question whether an asset is a qualifying asset for the purposes of the 1983 Act and, accordingly, for that purpose, the preceding provisions of this section shall be disregarded in determining whether any expenditure is allowable or allowed.