I need some clarification on capitalization under IAS 16 for self constructed assets by an entity under capital projects
Ias 9: capitalisation of costs
Rajesh Kumar Gupta (Chartered Accountants) (198 Points)
09 November 2012Rajesh Kumar Gupta (Chartered Accountants) (198 Points)
09 November 2012I need some clarification on capitalization under IAS 16 for self constructed assets by an entity under capital projects
Amit Ashok Chawla
(Corporate Trainer)
(383 Points)
Replied 05 January 2013
Dear Rajesh,
A good case-study you have question on. Let me try to answer it point-wise:
Consultancy costs: Ideally speaking, cost of boarding, lodging, etc do not contribute to the economic value of the asset. However, since these are directly attributable to bring the asset to the present location for intended use, they should be capitalised. If we see it from the view-point of freight inwards etc (direct costs), these also do not contribute, but should be forming part of the cost of asset.
Consumables: There are different views that can be taken on consumables. One way to look at it is the materiality aspect.
If the item is material enough, it may be capitalised, or can be charged to P&L directly if not material.
For consumables with a life of say less than 12 months, why bother maintaining records by capitalisation. It may be desirable to charge these to P&L itself.
For consumables with life of more than 12 months, it is desirable to keep a separate record to account for depreciation on these separately.
About a capital asset used for a capital project, depreciation on unfinished asset should be capitalised (the way we capitalise (add to the value) the factory depreciation in inventory value), being a direct cost.