{"id":"C2012A00019","name":"Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Customs) Act 2012","slug":"petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"19 of 2012","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8313,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2012A00019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Customs) Act 2012","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nPetroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Customs) Act 2012\n\n \n\nNo. 19, 2012\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose a tax in respect of the profits of certain petroleum projects, so far as that tax is a duty of customs\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Incorporation\n\n4 Imposition of tax\n\n5 Rate of tax\n\n6 Act does not impose a tax on property of a State\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nPetroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Customs) Act 2012\n\nNo. 19, 2012\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose a tax in respect of the profits of certain petroleum projects, so far as that tax is a duty of customs\n\n[Assented to 29 March 2012]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Customs) Act 2012.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on 1 July 2012.\n\n3  Incorporation\n\n  The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 is incorporated and is to be read as one with this Act.\n\n4  Imposition of tax\n\n (1) Tax is imposed in respect of the taxable profit of a person of a year of tax in relation to a petroleum project.\n\n (2) However, this section imposes that tax only so far as it is a duty of customs within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.\n\n (3) This section applies in relation to the year of tax beginning on 1 July 1986 and later years of tax.\n\n5  Rate of tax\n\n  The rate of tax in respect of the taxable profit of a person of a year of tax in relation to a petroleum project is 40%.\n\n6  Act does not impose a tax on property of a State\n\n (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n\n (2) In this section, property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 2 November 2011\n\nSenate on 7 February 2012]\n\n(229/11)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act implements PRRT as a customs duty on taxable profits of petroleum projects (s4) at a 40% rate (s5), incorporates the PRRT Assessment Act for mechanics (s3), applies from the 1986 tax year (s4(3)), and preserves a State property exemption (s6). The instrument's text shows these elements as its intended scope; no change of scope from that stated purpose is evident in the Act itself."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional qualification: tax applies only insofar as it is a duty of customs (s4(2)), requiring constitutional characterisation.","Cross‑reference to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 (s3) for definitions, calculation and administration.","Retrospective coverage to tax years beginning 1 July 1986 (s4(3)), which can raise record, valuation and compliance issues.","Fixed high statutory rate (40%) concentrated on petroleum project profits (s5) with economic impact on payers.","Exemption for State property tied to section 114 of the Constitution (s6), requiring property-status determinations.","Short standalone text but heavy reliance on external legal and administrative interpretation (constitutional and assessment Act)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act imposes the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) as a duty of customs on taxable profits from petroleum projects, but only to the extent the tax qualifies as a customs duty under section 55 of the Constitution (s4). It sets the rate at 40% (s5), incorporates the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 for calculation and administration (s3), applies to tax years from 1 July 1986 (s4(3)), commences 1 July 2012 (s2) and excludes State property (s6)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act remains tightly scoped to its original constitutional purpose. It has not expanded beyond its narrow function of imposing the PRRT qua customs duty. The substantive expansion of the PRRT regime (to onshore projects, coal seam gas, etc.) occurred through amendments to the incorporated Assessment Act 1987 and the parallel imposition Acts, not through expansion of this particular Act's scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 6 sections covering 2 pages","No defined terms in this Act itself — all substantive definitions reside in the incorporated Assessment Act","Single cross-reference: incorporation by reference of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987","Simple conditional logic: section 4(2) limits application to 'duties of customs' only","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements within this Act","Constitutional safeguard in section 6 is straightforward and mirrors section 114 of the Constitution directly"],"plain_english_summary":"This law is one of three separate Acts that together create the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) — a tax on profits made from extracting petroleum (oil and gas) in Australia.\n\n**What this specific Act does:**\nThis particular Act imposes the PRRT **only in situations where the tax counts as a 'duty of customs'** under the Australian Constitution. This is a technical constitutional requirement. In Australia's federal system, certain types of taxes must be imposed through specific legislative mechanisms. This Act covers the 'customs' aspect.\n\n**Key points:**\n- **Tax rate:** 40% of taxable profit from petroleum projects\n- **Who it affects:** Companies and entities making profits from petroleum extraction projects\n- **How it works:** This Act doesn't work alone — it 'incorporates' (treats as part of itself) the main **Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987**, which contains all the detailed rules about how to calculate taxable profit, what deductions are allowed, and how the tax is administered\n- **Constitutional protection:** The Act explicitly excludes state government property from taxation (section 6), protecting state assets as required by the Constitution\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis Act is part of Australia's system for ensuring the community gets a return from the extraction of non-renewable petroleum resources. The 40% tax rate applies to 'super profits' — profits above a specified return threshold. The split into three separate imposition Acts (Customs, Excise, and General) is a constitutional technicality to ensure the tax is validly imposed regardless of how courts might characterise the nature of the tax."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012","history":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-customs-act-2012/documents"}}