(1) If a taxpayer—
| (a) | holds a right of use or occupation of land or a building; |
| (b) | effects an improvement on the land or to the building in terms of— |
[Words preceding section 12N(1)(b)(i) substituted by section 40(1)(a) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No. 31 of 2013) - effective 4 July 2013]
[Section 12N(1)(b)(i) substituted by section 31(1)(a) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 22 of 2012) - effective 1 January 2013]
| (ii) | an agreement in terms of which the right of use or occupation is granted, if the land or building is owned by— |
| (aa) | the government of the Republic in the national, provincial or local sphere; or |
[Section 12N(1)(b)(ii) substituted by section 31(1)(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 22 of 2012) - effective 1 January 2013]
| (iii) | the Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme administered by the Department of Energy; |
[Section 12N(1)(b)(iii) inserted by section 31(1)(c) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 22 of 2012) - effective 1 January 2013]
| (c) | incurs expenditure to effect the improvement contemplated in paragraph (b); and |
[Section 12N(1)(c) substituted by section 40(1)(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No. 31 of 2013) - effective 1 January 2013]
| (d) | [Section 12N(1)(d) deleted by the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No. 31 of 2013), GG 37158, dated 12 December 2013 - effective 4 July 2013] |
| (e) | uses or occupies the land or building for the production of income or derives income from the land or building, |
the taxpayer must, for the purposes of any deduction contemplated in section 11D, 12B, 12BA, 12C, 12D, 12F, 12I, 12S, 13, 13ter, 13quat, 13quin, 13sex or 36, and for the purposes of the Eighth Schedule, be deemed to be the owner of the improvement so completed.
[Words following section 12N(1)(e) substituted by section 18(1) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2023 (Act No. 17 of 2023), Notice No. 4226, GG49894, dated 22 December 2023 - deemed to have come into operation on 1 March 2023 and applies in respect of assets brought into use on or after that date (section 18(2))]
(2)
| (a) | When the right of use or occupation terminates, the taxpayer must be deemed to have disposed of the improvement to the owner of the land or building on the later of the date when— |
| (i) | the right of use or occupation terminated; or |
| (ii) | the use or occupation ended. |
| (b) | If the right of use or occupation terminates and the taxpayer— |
| (i) | continues to use or occupy the land or building; or |
| (ii) | renews the right of use or occupation, |
the renewed right of use or occupation must be deemed to be the same right of use or occupation as the right of use or occupation previously held by the taxpayer.
| (3) | This section does not apply if the taxpayer— |
| (a) | is a person carrying on any banking, financial services or insurance business; or |
| (b) | enters into an agreement whereby the right of use or occupation of the land or building is granted to any other person, unless— |
| (i) | the land or building is occupied by that other person and that other person is a company that is a member of the same group of companies as that taxpayer in terms of such an agreement; |
| (ii) | the cost of maintaining the land or building and of carrying out repairs thereto required in consequence of normal wear and tear is borne by the taxpayer; and |
| (iii) | subject to any claim that the taxpayer may have against the other person by reason of the other person’s failure to take proper care of the land or building, the risk of destruction or loss of or other disadvantage to the land or building is not assumed by that other person. |
[Section 12N inserted by section 29(1) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2010 (Act No. 7 of 2010)]
