Commentary on Sections Overview Overview Section 137: Certified master versions: preliminary expenditure
561.This section allows preliminary expenditure on a qualifying film “genuinely intended for theatrical release” to be written off in the relevant period in which it is incurred. It is based on section 41 of F(No 2)A 1992 and section 99(1) of FA 2002.
562.Preliminary expenditure is not defined. It consists of expenditure incurred in deciding whether to make the film (generally known in the industry as “development” or “pre-production” expenditure). “Genuinely intended for theatrical release” is defined in section 144 of this Act and refers to films intended for commercial release in cinemas.
563.This section dispenses with the requirement in section 41(1) of F(No 2)A 1992 for a claim to be made for preliminary expenditure to be allocated to a relevant period. See Change 40 in Annex 1.
564.Subsection (3) provides that a deduction for preliminary expenditure allocated to the relevant period is subject to the application of “any prohibitive rule”. “Any prohibitive rule” is defined in section 130(7) of this Act as any provision of the Income Tax Acts which prohibits, or restricts the extent of, a deduction in calculating the profits of a trade.
565.Subsection (7) prevents preliminary expenditure being relieved both under this section and under the basic rules in section 135 in the same relevant period. See Change 41 in Annex 1.