If that’s the case, then it’s pisspoor contract drafting on our part.
If it explicitly states that in the contract, then the auditors can’t capitalise those expenses. So maybe there has been an amendment or the wording is a bit loosey-goosey around that clause which is why the auditors decided to capitalise it in the 2023 year.
It would make sense that the amount was immaterial in the prior year, so the auditors decided to leave it as an unadjusted difference in the 2022 AFS rather than raise questions by adjusting it.