Amortisation of expenditure allows staged tax deduction for mineral prospecting expenses with carry-forward and anti-double-deduction safeguards.
Clause 51 establishes a regime permitting amortisation of qualifying prospecting and mine-development expenses for Indian companies and resident individuals by allowing an annual deduction of one-tenth of the specified expenditure over ten tax years from the year of commercial production. It limits eligible expenditure to amounts incurred in the year of commercial production and the four preceding years, excludes acquisition costs of mineral sites and depreciable capital assets, bars double claims under other provisions, permits carry-forward within the ten-year ceiling, and requires audited accounts for non-corporate claimants.