(1)    In Schedule 20 to the Finance Act 2000 (c 17) (tax relief for expenditure on research and development) for paragraph 6 (expenditure on consumable stores) substitute—

(1)    For the purposes of this Schedule expenditure on software or consumable items means expenditure on—

(a)    computer software, or

(b)    consumable or transformable materials,

and references to software or consumable items shall be construed accordingly.

(2)    For the purposes of this Schedule consumable or transformable materials include water, fuel and power.

(3)    Expenditure on software or consumable items is attributable to relevant research and development if the software or consumable items are employed directly in such research and development.

(4)    In the case of software or consumable items partly employed directly in relevant research and development, an appropriate portion of the expenditure on the software or consumable items is treated as attributable to relevant research and development.

(5)    For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), software or consumable items employed in the provision of services, such as secretarial or administrative services, in support of other activities are not, by virtue of their employment in the provision of those services, to be treated as themselves directly employed in those other activities.” .

(2)    In each of the following enactments (which relate to tax relief for expenditure on research and development)—

(a)    Schedule 20 to the Finance Act 2000 (c 17) (small or medium-sized enterprises), other than paragraph 6,

(b)    Schedule 12 to the Finance Act 2002 (c 23) (large companies, work sub-contracted to, and large company relief for, small or medium-sized enterprises),

(c)    Schedule 13 to that Act (vaccine research etc),

for the words “consumable stores”, wherever occurring, substitute “software or consumable items”.

(3)    The amendments made by this section to Schedule 12 to the Finance Act 2002 (large companies etc) have effect in relation to expenditure incurred on or after 1st April 2004.

(4)    Except as provided by subsection (5), the amendments made by this section to—

(a)    Schedule 20 to the Finance Act 2000 (small or medium-sized enterprises),

(b)    Schedule 13 to the Finance Act 2002 (vaccine research etc),

have effect in relation to expenditure incurred on or after the appointed day.

(5)    The amendment made by subsection (1) (substitution of paragraph 6 of Schedule 20 to the Finance Act 2000), in its application for the purposes of Schedule 12 to the Finance Act 2002 by virtue of the amendments made to that Schedule by subsection (2), has effect in relation to expenditure incurred on or after 1st April 2004.

(6)    In this section “the appointed day” means such day as the Treasury may by order appoint; and different days may be so appointed for different provisions or different purposes.

(7)    The days that may be appointed by an order under subsection (6) include days earlier than the day on which this Act is passed, but not days earlier than 1st April 2004.