CA22020 - Plant and Machinery Allowances (PMA): buildings and structures: structures and works

CAA01/S22

Do not give PMAs on expenditure on the provision, construction or acquisition of a fixed structure or any asset in the list below, list B, or on any works involving the alteration of land.

Land is defined in Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 CA22040 but if you apply that definition exclude buildings and structures.

This is list B.

  1. A tunnel, bridge, viaduct, aqueduct, embankment or cutting
  2. A way, hard standing (such as a pavement), road, railway, tramway, a park for vehicles or containers, or an airstrip or runway
  3. An inland navigation, including a canal or basin or a navigable river
  4. A dam, reservoir or barrage, including any sluices, gates, generators and other equipment associated with the dam, reservoir or barrage
  5. A dock, harbour, wharf, pier, marina or jetty or any other structure in or at which vessels may be kept, or merchandise or passengers may be shipped or unshipped
  6. A dike, sea wall, weir or drainage ditch
  7. Any structure not within items 1 to 6 other than:
  • a structure (but not a building) which is an industrial building,
  • a structure in use for the purposes of an undertaking for the extraction, production, processing or distribution of gas, and
  • a structure in use for the purposes of a trade that consists in the provision of telecommunication, television or radio services**

**Unless the asset is in the list of assets not affected by the legislation CA22030. If it is in that list you will have to apply the normal tests to decide whether the asset is plant. There have been a few cases where a structure was found to be plant CA22050.

FA2008 abolished IBA from 1 April 2011 (CT) and 6 April 2011 (IT). The IBA legislation continues to have effect after its repeal for the purposes of section 22 (structures which are not plant).

Meaning of 'tunnel,' 'bridge,' 'viaduct,' 'cutting,' 'embankment' and 'aqueduct'

Following the Supreme Court decision in HMRC v SSE Generation Ltd [2023] UKSC 17 we accept that for item 1, List B, s22:

A 'tunnel' is a subterranean passage through an obstacle for a way (such as a railway, road, or canal) to pass through. Note that the provision of a way does not have to be the primary purpose;

A 'bridge' and a 'viaduct' permit vehicles or pedestrians to travel over an obstacle;

A 'cutting' and an 'embankment' are other structures resulting from clearing obstacles in constructing a road, railway or inland navigation;

An 'aqueduct' is a bridge-like structure for carrying water (such as where a canal is carried over a river or valley).