318 Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014
lease satisfi es most or all of the criteria to be consid-
ered a sale of an asset in Box A4.1. When the land is
leased in other circumstances, the payments are re-
corded as rent (1415 or 2814) under a resource lease
agreement.
A4.27 In some jurisdictions, the land under build-
ings remains in the legal ownership of a landlord
other than the owner of the buildings. If regular pay-
ments are made to the landlord, these are recorded
as rent (1415 or 2814). However, it is sometimes the
case that, even though the land legally belongs to
another unit, the right to occupy it for an extended
period is payable in a single upfront payment oft en
when the building is acquired. In such a case the pay-
ment is recorded as the acquisition of a nonproduced
asset, classifi ed as land (3141) if the value of the land
can be established sepa rately from that of the build-
ing. If not, the composite asset should be classifi ed
in the category representing the greater part of the
value (see paragraphs 7.94 and 8.51). In such a case,
when the building changes own ership, the purchase
price includes an element repre senting the present
value of future rent payments. Th erefore, the land is
recorded as if the ownership is transferred along with
the building above the land. If, at the end of the land
lease, a further payment is liable for extension of the
lease for another long-term period, this should be
recorded as an acquisition of another nonproduced
asset, as described earlier.Timber
A4.28 For timber, four possibilities are distin-
guished: the sale of a natural resource asset, the sale
of a permit, rent of a natural resource asset, or sale of
forests that are produced assets.- Sale of a natural resource asset—If government
gives a unit permission to clear an area of natu-
ral forest, or to fell at its discretion without any
restriction in perpetuity, the payments made to
government (the owner) constitute the sale of the
natural resource asset, classifi ed as noncultivated
biological resources (31431).^10 - Sale of a permit—When licenses or permits is-
sued to use the natural resource, such as timber,
(^10) Th e sale of forested land may be recorded as the sale of the tim-
ber and the land separately, depending on the intended use of each.
satisfy the criteria to be a separate asset, the as-
sets are classi fi ed as contracts, leases, and licenses
(31441).
- Rent of a natural resource asset—It is common
for timber felling to be allowed, subject to strict
limits with a fee payable per unit volume of tim-
ber felled (stumpage). Th e limits are usually such
that the harvest of timber is sustainable and so
the pay ments are recorded as rent (1415 or 2814)
in the case of a natural forest. Th e option to have
a lease permitting felling at the lessee’s discretion
but sub ject to the restoration of the land, in an
acceptable forested state, at some time in the fu-
ture is improb able. - Sale of goods and services—When cultivated
forests are produced assets in the form of inven-
tories, the extraction of timber is treated as the
sale of goods and services (142).
A4.29 Illegal logging is prevalent in some coun-
tries. In such cases, the quantity of timber extracted
should be recorded as other changes in the volume of
assets (i.e., uncompensated seizure).Fish
A4.30 Natural stocks of fi sh with an economic
value are an asset, and the same considerations apply
to them as to other natural resources.^11 Two possibili-
ties exist for commercial fi shing:- Fishing quotas are permits that may be allocated
in perpetuity or for extended periods to par-
ticular institutional units—for example, where
fi shing is an established way of life and there
may be little alternative economic employment.
In such circum stances, the quotas may be trans-
ferable and, if so, there may be a well-developed
market for them. Fishing quotas may, therefore,
be considered as transferable permits to use a
natural resource. Such permits are assets in
macroeconomic statistics and classifi ed as per-
mits to use natural resources (614412) in the bal-
ance sheet.
(^11) It is not realistic to consider that permission would be given to
exhaust fi sh stocks, but illegal fi shing may either reduce the stock
position below the point of sustainability or exhaust it altogether.
In these cases, an other volume change in the stock position
should be recorded.