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Microlesson · 5-min read

AS 16 – General Borrowings: Capitalisation Rate (WACC) Method

## General Borrowings – Definition

All borrowings that are not taken specifically for a qualifying asset. The qualifying asset is funded from a pool of general borrowings.

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## Two-Step Calculation

### Step 1: Calculate the Capitalisation Rate (Weighted Average Cost of Capital)

$$\text{Capitalisation Rate} = \frac{\text{Total Interest (Weighted Avg)}}{\text{Total Borrowings (Weighted Avg)}} \times 100$$

  • Use all general borrowings outstanding during the period
  • Weight each borrowing by its principal amount
  • Exclude specific borrowings from this calculation entirely
  • If a loan starts mid-year, weight its principal proportionally (months/12)

### Step 2: Calculate Borrowing Cost to be Capitalised

$$\text{BC} = \text{Expenditure} \times \text{Cap Rate} \times \frac{\text{Months Outstanding}}{12}$$

  • Apply to each tranche of expenditure separately
  • Time-weight from the date of expenditure to the end of construction period
  • Sum across all tranches for total borrowing cost capitalised

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## Important Ceiling Rule

> Total borrowing cost capitalised cannot exceed the actual total borrowing costs incurred on general borrowings during the period.

Worked example

### Example 1

General Borrowings — Two Lenders:

General Borrowings (both from 01-Apr-Y1):

  • ICICI Bank: ₹100 cr @ 12%
  • HDFC Bank: ₹75 cr @ 14%

Expenditures on qualifying asset:

  • 01-Apr-Y1: ₹50 cr
  • 01-Jul-Y1: ₹75 cr
  • 01-Jan-Y2: ₹25 cr

Construction: 01-Apr-Y1 to 31-Mar-Y2

Step 1 – Capitalisation Rate:

BankPrincipal (₹ cr)RateInterest
ICICI10012%12.00
HDFC7514%10.50
Total17522.50

Cap Rate = 22.50 / 175 × 100 = 12.86% p.a.

Step 2 – BC Capitalised:

DateAmountRateMonthsBC (₹ cr)
01-Apr-Y15012.86%12/126.43
01-Jul-Y17512.86%9/127.23
01-Jan-Y22512.86%3/120.80
Total14.46 cr

Check: 14.46 < 22.50 (actual interest) ✓ — ceiling not breached.

### Example 2

General Borrowings — Three Lenders:

General Borrowings (from 01-Apr-Y1):

  • ICICI Bank: ₹100 cr @ 10%
  • HDFC Bank: ₹75 cr @ 12%
  • Term Loan: ₹50 cr @ 14%

Expenditures:

  • 01-Apr-Y1: ₹50 cr
  • 01-Jul-Y1: ₹100 cr
  • 01-Nov-Y1: ₹25 cr

Construction period: 12 months

Step 1: Cap Rate = (10 + 9 + 7) / (100 + 75 + 50) = 26 / 225 = 11.56% p.a.

Step 2:

DateAmountRateMonthsBC (₹ cr)
01-Apr5011.56%12/125.78
01-Jul10011.56%9/128.67
01-Nov2511.56%5/121.20
Total15.65 cr

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Including specific borrowings in the WACC/capitalisation rate calculation — these must be completely excluded
  • Not time-weighting expenditures — each tranche must be multiplied by months outstanding / 12, not full year
  • Not time-weighting a borrowing that starts mid-year when computing the capitalisation rate (weight principal by months/12)
  • Capitalising more than the actual total interest incurred on general borrowings — the ceiling rule applies
  • Applying the capitalisation rate to the cumulative expenditure balance instead of each tranche separately from its disbursement date
Bare-Act text Para 10 · AS 16 – Borrowing Costs · click to expand
To the extent funds are borrowed generally and used for the purpose of obtaining a qualifying asset, the amount of borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation should be determined by applying a capitalisation rate to the expenditures on that asset. The capitalisation rate should be the weighted average of the borrowing costs applicable to the borrowings of the enterprise that are outstanding during the period, other than borrowings made specifically for the purpose of obtaining a qualifying asset. The amount of borrowing costs capitalised during a period should not exceed the amount of borrowing costs incurred during that period.
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