Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Amendment Act 2012 (18 of 2012)

Schedule 4   Starting base for onshore petroleum projects and the North West Shelf project

Part 1   Main amendments

Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987

11   Section 45

Repeal the section, substitute:

45 Time of incurring of expenditure

Petroleum projects generally

(1) For the purposes of this Act, eligible real expenditure may be incurred by a person in relation to a petroleum project (other than an onshore petroleum project, the Bass Strait project or the North West Shelf project) at any time, including a time:

(a) before the project commences or after the project ceases; or

(b) before the commencement of this Act.

Onshore petroleum projects

(2) For the purposes of this Act, eligible real expenditure may be incurred by a person in relation to an onshore petroleum project:

(a) if the project, or the exploration permit or retention lease from which the production licence to which the project relates is derived, came into existence before 2 May 2010 - at any time on or after the starting base day under subsection (5) for the person's interest in the project, including a time before the project commences or after the project ceases; or

(b) if the project, or the exploration permit or retention lease from which the production licence to which the project relates is derived, came into existence on or after 2 May 2010 - at any time on or after 2 May 2010, including a time before the project commences or after the project ceases.

The Bass Strait project

(3) For the purposes of this Act, eligible real expenditure may be incurred by a person in relation to the Bass Strait project at any time on or after 1 July 1990, including a time after the project ceases.

The North West Shelf project

(4) For the purposes of this Act, eligible real expenditure may be incurred by a person in relation to the North West Shelf project at any time on or after the starting base day under subsection (5) for the person's interest in the project, including a time after the project ceases.

Starting base days

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a) or subsection (4), the starting base day for a person's interest in an onshore petroleum project, or in the North West Shelf project, is:

Note: Eligible real expenditure incurred before 1 July 2012 in relation to an onshore petroleum project that came into existence before 2 May 2010, or in relation to the North West Shelf project, is taken into account in a person's starting base amount under Schedule 2, if the look-back approach does not apply to the person's interest in the project.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), a person holding an interest in an onshore petroleum project or the North West Shelf project is taken:

(a) to have acquired the interest if, and when, the person is taken to have acquired that interest for the purposes of clause 18 of Schedule 2; and

(b)(not being an individual) to have been acquired if, and when, the person is taken to have been acquired for the purposes of that clause.

Resource tax expenditure

(7) Despite subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4), resource tax expenditure cannot be incurred by a person, in relation to a petroleum project, before 1 July 2012.