Text of ITO Section 24

Intangibles.

(1) A person shall be allowed an amortisation deduction in accordance with this section in a tax year for the cost of the person’s intangibles–

(a) that are wholly or partly used by the person in the tax year in deriving income from business chargeable to tax; and
(b) that have a normal useful life exceeding one year.

(2) No deduction shall be allowed under this section where a deduction has been allowed under another section of this Ordinance for the entire cost of the intangible in the tax year in which the intangible is acquired.

(3) Subject to sub-section (7), the amortization deduction of a person for a tax year shall be computed according to the following formula, namely:—
A
B
where —
A is the cost of the intangible; and
B is the normal useful life of the intangible in whole years.

(4) An intangible that does not have an ascertainable useful life shall be treated as if it had a normal useful life of twenty-five years.

(5) Where an intangible is used in a tax year partly in deriving income from business chargeable to tax and partly for another use, the deduction allowed under this section for that year shall be restricted to the fair proportional part of the amount that would be allowed if the intangible were wholly used to derive income from business chargeable to tax.

(6) Where an intangible is not used for the whole of the tax year in deriving income from business chargeable to tax, the deduction allowed under this section shall be computed according to the following formula, namely: —
 

A x B/C
where —
A is the amount of amortization computed under sub-section (3) or (5), as the case may be;
B is the number of days in the tax year the intangible is used in deriving income from business chargeable to tax; and
C is the number of days in the tax year.

(7) The total deductions allowed to a person under this section in the current tax year and all previous tax years in respect of an intangible shall not exceed the cost of the intangible.

(8) Where, in any tax year, a person disposes of an intangible, no amortisation deduction shall be allowed under this section for that year and —

(a) if the consideration received by the person exceeds the written down value of the intangible at the time of disposal, the excess shall be income of the person chargeable to tax in that year under the head “Income from Business”; or
(b) if the consideration received is less than the written down value of the intangible at the time of disposal, the difference shall be allowed as a deduction in computing the person’s income chargeable under the head “Income from Business” in that year.

(9) For the purposes of sub-section (8) —
(a) the written down value of an intangible at the time of disposal shall be the cost of the intangible reduced by the total deductions allowed to the person under this section in respect of the intangible or, where the intangible is not wholly used to derive income chargeable to tax, the amount that would be allowed under this section if the intangible were wholly so used; and
(b) the consideration received on disposal of an intangible shall be determined in accordance with section 77.

(10) For the purposes of this section, an intangible that is available for use on a day (including a non-working day) is treated as used on that day.

(11) In this section, —

“cost” in relation to an intangible, means any expenditure incurred in acquiring or creating the intangible, including any expenditure incurred in improving or renewing the intangible; and

“intangible” means any patent, invention, design or model, secret formula or process, copyright, trade mark, scientific or technical knowledge, computer software, motion picture film, export quotas, franchise, licence, intellectual property, or other like property or right, contractual rights and any expenditure that provides an advantage or benefit for a period of more than one year (other than expenditure incurred to acquire a depreciable asset or unimproved land, but shall not include self-generated goodwill or any adjustment arising on account of accounting treatment in the manner as may be prescribed).