# Companies Act 1948, Paragraph 5


(1) The method of arriving at the amount of any fixed asset shall, subject to the next following sub-paragraph, be to take the difference between—
(a) its cost or, if it stands in the company's books at a valuation, the amount of the valuation ; and
(b) the aggregate amount provided or written off since the date of acquisition or valuation, as the case may be, for depreciation or diminution in value;
and for the purposes of this paragraph the net amount at which any assets stand in the company's books at the commencement of this Act (after deduction of the amounts previously provided or written off for depreciation or diminution in value) shall, if the figures relating to the period before the commencement of this Act cannot be obtained without unreasonable expense or delay, be treated as if it were the amount of a valuation of those assets made at the commencement of this Act and, where any of those assets are sold, the said net amount less the amount of the sales shall be treated as if it were the amount of a valuation so made of the remaining assets.
(2) The foregoing sub-paragraph shall not apply—
(a) to assets for which the figures relating to the period beginning with the commencement of this Act cannot be obtained without unreasonable expense or delay; or
(b) to assets the replacement of which is provided for wholly or partly—
(i) by making provision for renewals and charging the cost of replacement against the provision so made ; or
(ii) by charging the cost of replacement direct to revenue; or
(c) to any investments of which the market value (or, in the case of investments not having a market value, their value as estimated by the directors) is shown either as the amount of the investments or by way of note ; or
(d) to goodwill, patents or trade marks.
(3) For the assets under each heading whose amount is arrived at in accordance with sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph, there shall be shown
(a) the aggregate of the amounts referred to in paragraph (a) of that sub-paragraph ; and
(b) the aggregate of the amounts referred to in paragraph (b) thereof.
(4) As respects the assets under each heading whose amount is not arrived at in accordance with the said sub-paragraph (1) because their replacement is provided for as mentioned in sub-paragraph (2)(b) of this paragraph, there shall be stated—
(a) the means by which their replacement is provided for; and
(b) the aggregate amount of the provision (if any) made for renewals and not used.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/11-12/38/schedule/EIGHTH/paragraph/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-1948/schedule-EIGHTH/paragraph-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.