法律英语词汇“fixed asset”的翻译、意思、用法、释义-法律词典

fixed asset
(capital asset) An asset held to carry on business activity that is held long-term and is not intended to be consumed in the conduct of the business activity. The value attributed to a fixed asset is an entry on the balance sheet of the enterprise.

• tangible fixed assets, such as industrial machinery, a factory building, or an aircraft;

• investments, such as property held for letting, shares in a purchasing cooperative, etc.;

• intangible fixed assets, such as goodwill or know-how.

The term derives from the analysis of Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations (1776), where he distinguished between two main types of business asset: on the one hand, those that are required to be held in the long term, such as plant, machinery, buildings, etc., and on the other, those inputs and outputs that are consumed in the production process. The former are the assets of the business that are fixed (and financed by fixed capital), whereas the latter are the assets of the business that are circulating (and financed by circulating capital).

Modern judicial practice in commercial cases is to apply the definitions given in the Financial Reporting Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council. “Fixed assets” are here defined as those “Assets of an entity which are intended for use on a continuing basis in the entity’s activities.” In turn, “asset” is defined as “A resource controlled by the entity as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity.”

Whether or not an item is a fixed asset must be decided in relation to the business in which it is held. For case law on what is plant and machinery (a category of fixed asset), see machinery and plant.

The Financial Reporting Council defines an “intangible asset” as an “identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance”. The definition continues by stating that “an asset is identifiable, when: (a) it is separable, i.e. capable of being separated or divided from the entity and sold, transferred, licensed, rented or exchanged … or (b) it arises from contractual or other legal rights, regardless of whether those rights are transferable or separable from the entity or from other rights and obligations”.

Intangible fixed assets include a brand, a patent, manufacturing know-how, a list of potential clients, and goodwill. Goodwill can be internally generated or separately purchased, or can arise on a company takeover (being the difference between the price paid for the company and the value of its physical assets). Tax treatment varies as to whether the goodwill was created before or after 1 April 2002. This can be a difficult question to determine (Greenbank Holidays Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2011] UKUT 155).

The cost of a fixed asset in accounts is the cost (including associated costs) of purchase plus major spare parts plus routine replacements.