23. Carry forward of allowances

Where, in any year of assessment, full effect cannot, by reason of an insufficiency of gains or profits chargeable for that year of assessment, be given to any allowance falling to be made under section 16, 17, 18A (repealed), 18B, 18C, 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D or 20, then, so long as the person entitled thereto continues to carry on the trade, profession or business in respect of the gains or profits of which the allowance falls to be made, the balance of the allowance is, subject to subsection (3), to be added to, and is deemed to form part of, the corresponding allowance (if any) for the next succeeding year of assessment, and, if no such corresponding allowance falls to be made for that year, is deemed to constitute the corresponding allowance for that year, and so on for subsequent years of assessment.

Where any person entitled to the allowances under sections 16, 17, 18B and 18C in respect of a building or structure derives income from the letting of that building or structure, subsection (1) applies, in relation to the allowances under those sections, to the person so long as the person continues to derive such income, whether or not the person is carrying on a business in respect of the letting of the building or structure.

Where any allowance for any year of assessment falling to be made to any person under section 16, 17, 18A (repealed), 18B, 18C, 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D or 20 is deducted against income of the person from other sources under section 35(1), transferred to a claimant company under section 37B or to a spouse under section 37C or 37E, or deducted against income for the immediate preceding year of assessment under section 37D(1) or any of the 3 immediate preceding years of assessment under section 37D(1A), the amount of such allowance must be deducted from the balance in subsection (1).

No balance may be added to and be deemed to form part of the corresponding allowance (if any) to be given to a company under subsection (1) unless the Comptroller is satisfied that the shareholders of the company on the last day of the year in which the allowances arose were substantially the same as the shareholders of the company on the first day of the year of assessment in which such allowances would otherwise be available under this section and such a balance is not allowed in any subsequent year of assessment.

The Minister or such person as the Minister may appoint may, where there is a substantial change in the shareholders of a company and the Minister or appointed person is satisfied that such change is not for the purpose of deriving any tax benefit or obtaining any tax advantage, exempt that company from the provisions of subsection (4).

Upon such exemption, the balance of the allowances referred to in subsection (1) may be added to and be deemed to form part of the corresponding allowance to be given to that company under that subsection but only for deduction against the gains or profits derived from the same trade or business in respect of which the allowances would have been made.

For the purpose of subsection (4) —

For the purpose of subsection (7), where any part of a share of a shareholder is not fully paid up, there is to be disregarded a proportion equal towhere Ais the amount that has not been paid in respect of the share; andBis the total amount payable in respect of the share.