IAS 23 Borrowing Costs

IAS 23 ‘Borrowing Costs’ requires capitalization of directly-attributable borrowing costs as part of the cost of the asset. Other borrowing costs are expensed out in the period in which they are incurred.

Scope

IAS 23 deals with capitalization of cost of debt (i.e. cost on items classified as financial liabilities) and not actual or imputed cost of equity, including preferred capital not classified as a liability.

IAS 23 is not applied to qualifying assets measured at fair value (such as a biological asset within the scope of IAS 41 Agriculture), or inventories that are manufactured, or otherwise produced, in large quantities on a repetitive basis.

Borrowing costs

Borrowing costs are interest and other costs that an entity incurs in connection with the borrowing of funds. Borrowing costs may include:

• interest expense recognized through application of the effective interest method (under IFRS 9,
• finance cost recognized on unwinding of lease liabilities (under IFRS 16 Leases) and
• exchange differences arising from foreign currency borrowings to the extent that they are regarded as an adjustment to interest costs.

Qualifying asset

A qualifying asset is an asset that necessarily takes a substantial period of time to get ready for its intended use or sale. Qualifying costs may be (a) inventories, (b) manufacturing plants, (c) power generation facilities, (d) intangible assets, (e) investment properties, (f) bearer plants.

Borrowing costs eligible for capitalization

Borrowing costs are capitalized (and included in the cost of the asset) when these are directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or production of a qualifying asset and can be measured reliably. Other borrowing costs are charged to profit or loss in the period in which they are incurred.

Specific borrowings

When funds are borrowed specifically for the qualifying asset, it is easy to identify the directly attributable borrowing costs.

In case of specific borrowing, the entity shall determine the amount of borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation as the actual borrowing costs incurred on that borrowing during the period less any investment income on the temporary investment of those borrowings.

General borrowings

In many cases it may be difficult to identify a direct relationship between particular borrowings and a qualifying asset and to determine the borrowings that could otherwise have been avoided. This is the case, for example, when

• financing activity of an entity is coordinated centrally,
• an entity is party of a group which uses a range of debt instruments to borrow funds at varying rates of interest, and lends those funds on various bases to other entities in the group,
• borrowings are denominated in or linked to foreign currencies,
• the group operates in highly inflationary economies, and from fluctuations in exchange rates.

When general borrowings are used to finance a qualifying asset, the entity shall determine the amount of borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation by applying a capitalisation rate to the expenditures on that asset.

Determining the capitalization rate

The capitalisation rate is the weighted average of the borrowing costs applicable to all borrowings of the entity that are outstanding during the period. This excluded any specific borrowings obtained by the entity until substantially all the activities necessary to prepare that asset for its intended use or sale are complete.

The amount of borrowing costs that an entity capitalises during a period shall not exceed the amount of borrowing costs it incurred during that period.

Whether an entity calculates the weighted average capitalisation rate at its own level or at the group level depends on the integration of the company’s financial management with the group.

Commencement of capitalisation

Borrowing costs are capitalized starting from the date when the entity first meets all of the following conditions:

• it incurs expenditures for the asset;
• it incurs borrowing costs; and
• it undertakes activities that are necessary to prepare the asset for its intended use or sale.

Eligible activities

The activities necessary to prepare the asset for its intended use or sale encompass more than the physical construction of the asset. They include technical and administrative work prior to the commencement of physical construction. However, such activities exclude the holding of an asset when no production or development that changes the asset’s condition is taking place.

For example, when land is held but no development or pre-development activities are taking place, no borrowing costs can be capitalized. However, if an entity is actively engaged in obtaining regulatory permits for construction, carrying out detailed design, etc., borrowing costs may be capitalized.

Suspension of capitalisation

An entity shall suspend capitalisation of borrowing costs during extended periods in which it suspends active development of a qualifying asset (because such costs are costs of holding partially completed assets and do not qualify for capitalisation.

However, an entity does not normally suspend capitalising borrowing costs during a period when:

• It carries out substantial technical and administrative work.
• A temporary delay is a necessary part of the process of getting an asset ready for its intended use or sale.

Cessation of capitalisation

An entity shall cease capitalising borrowing costs when ‘substantially’ all the activities necessary to prepare the qualifying asset for its intended use or sale are complete. This is normally the date when the physical construction of the asset is complete even though routine administrative work might still continue.

Disclosure

An entity shall disclose the following regarding capitalization of borrowing costs:

• the amount of borrowing costs capitalised during the period; and
• the capitalisation rate used to determine the amount of borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation.