Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 271

Industrial building allowances

Section 271 provides for the granting of an industrial building initial allowance to a person who incurs capital expenditure on the construction or refurbishment of certain qualifying industrial buildings or structures.

• A business owner or landlord who spends money on constructing or refurbishing a qualifying industrial building may claim an initial allowance of up to 50% of the expenditure, but from 1 April 1992 this allowance is only available in limited special cases.
• The special cases are buildings used for relevant trading operations in the Shannon Airport Area or the Custom House Docks Area, and buildings provided for projects approved by an industrial development agency within specified date ranges.
• The rates of allowance are 50% for mills, factories, mineral laboratories and dock undertakings, 20% for market gardening and intensive livestock production, and 10% in all other cases such as hotels and airport infrastructure.
• The initial allowance and the annual writing-down allowance cannot both be claimed for the same chargeable period, and if the building is not used for qualifying industrial purposes the initial allowance is withdrawn.