Definition: Ordinary maintenance and repairs

Category: SNA

Ordinary maintenance and repairs are distinguished by two features: 

a. They are activities that owners or users of fixed assets are obliged to undertake periodically in order to be able to utilize such assets over their expected service lives. They are current costs that cannot be avoided if the fixed assets are to continue to be used. The owner or user cannot afford to neglect maintenance and repairs as the expected service life may be drastically shortened otherwise;

b. Maintenance and repairs do not change the fixed asset or its performance, but simply maintain it in good working order or restore it to its previous condition in the event of a breakdown. Defective parts are replaced by new parts of the same kind without changing the basic nature of the fixed asset (§ 6.228). http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/SNA2008.pdf