ATO ID 2003/1133: Capital Allowances: roll-over relief - transfer of low-value pool assets from partnership to wholly-owned company
Date of decision: 28 May 2003
Year of income: Year ended 30 June 2003
Business line: Private Groups and High Wealth Individuals

Issue
Does automatic roll-over relief under subsection 40-340(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) apply if the asset the taxpayer disposed of was allocated to a low-value pool?

Decision
No. Automatic roll-over relief under subsection 40-340(1) of the ITAA 1997 only applies where the general balancing adjustment rules of Subdivision 40-D apply to the asset.

Facts
The taxpayer is a common law partnership. The partnership holds, pursuant to item 7 of the table in section 40-40 of the ITAA 1997, a number of low-cost depreciating assets that it allocated to a low-value pool for the 2002 income year. During the 2003 income year, all of the partnership's assets were transferred to a company wholly-owned by the partners. The transfer of assets by the partnership to the company constituted a balancing adjustment event for the partnership assets in accordance with paragraph 40-295(1)(a) of the ITAA 1997. The transfer satisfied all of the conditions for automatic roll-over relief in item 2 of the table in subsection 40-340(1) of the ITAA 1997.

Reasons for decision
Summary: Subdivision 40-D of the ITAA 1997 contains the general balancing adjustment rules that apply to depreciating assets whose decline in value is worked out under the general provisions of Subdivision 40-B of the ITAA 1997. Under these balancing adjustment rules, the difference between the asset's termination value and its adjustable value is either included in, or deducted from, the holder's assessable income for the income year in which the balancing adjustment event occurs (section 40-285 of the ITAA 1997). However, subsection 40-345(1) of the ITAA 1997 prevents section 40-285 from applying so that no balancing adjustment arises if the taxpayer meets the conditions for automatic roll-over relief set out in subsection 40-340(1) of the ITAA 1997. Subdivision 40-E of ITAA 1997 contains a number of provisions that specifically apply for depreciating assets allocated to a low-value pool. Section 40-440 of the ITAA 1997 sets out how to work out the decline in value of pooled assets. Section 40-445 of the ITAA 1997 sets out the balancing adjustment rules for pooled assets. Under these balancing adjustment rules, the taxable use percentage of the asset's termination value is applied to reduce the closing pool balance and, if the termination value exceeds the closing pool balance, the excess is included in assessable income. The specific balancing adjustment rules in Subdivision 40-E of the ITAA 1997 apply for depreciating assets allocated to a low-value pool, in preference to the general balancing adjustment rules in Subdivision 40-D of the ITAA 1997 that apply for most other depreciating assets. This means roll-over relief under subsection 40-340(1) of the ITAA 1997 does not apply for depreciating assets allocated to a low-value pool. In this case, the transfer of the assets by the partnership to the company is a balancing adjustment event in accordance with paragraph 40-295(1)(a) of the ITAA 1997. However, as the assets were allocated to a low-value pool, the specific balancing adjustment rules in Subdivision 40-E of the ITAA 1997 apply. This means automatic roll-over relief under subsection 40-340(1) of the ITAA 1997 does not apply.

Legislative references: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 40-40 Sub Division 40-B Subdivision 40-D section 40-285 paragraph 40-295(1)(a) subsection 40-340(1) subsection 40-345(1) Subdivision 40-E section 40-440 section 40-445
Related ATO interpretative decisions: ATO ID 2003/911 (withdrawn)
Subject references: Balancing adjustment amount Balancing adjustment roll-over relief Capital allowances CoE Depreciating assets Low-value pool Uniform capital allowances system