{"id":"C2012A00020","name":"Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Excise) Act 2012","slug":"petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"20 of 2012","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8322,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2012A00020-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (Imposition—Excise) 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—Excise) Act 2012\n\n \n\nNo. 20, 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 excise\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—Excise) Act 2012\n\nNo. 20, 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 excise\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—Excise) 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 excise 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(232/11)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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 is a foundational imposition Act that has remained narrow and purpose-built since enactment. It does exactly what its title and long title suggest: imposes the PRRT as an excise duty. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific constitutional mechanism for imposing the tax."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 6 sections","No defined terms in this Act itself — relies entirely on the incorporated Assessment Act for definitions","Single cross-reference: incorporates the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 by reference","Simple conditional logic: only one substantive limitation (section 4(2) — only applies so far as it is a duty of excise)","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Straightforward rate: flat 40% with no tiers or conditions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law is one of three pieces of legislation that together create the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) — a tax on profits made from extracting petroleum resources in Australia.\n\n**What this specific law does:**\nThis particular Act is the \"excise\" version of the tax imposition. It imposes a **40% tax** on the **taxable profits** of petroleum projects (like oil and gas extraction), but **only to the extent that the tax counts as a duty of excise** under the Australian Constitution.\n\n**Why there are multiple imposition Acts:**\nAustralia's Constitution (section 55) requires that laws imposing taxes must only deal with one type of tax at a time. Because the PRRT could potentially be characterised as different constitutional types of tax, Parliament passed three separate imposition Acts to cover all bases:\n- This one (excise)\n- One for customs duties\n- One for general taxation\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Companies and entities running petroleum projects in Australia\n- Does **not** apply to property belonging to a State government (protected by section 114 of the Constitution)\n\n**Key technical detail:**\nThis Act works together with the **Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987**, which contains the detailed rules for calculating what counts as \"taxable profit.\" This Act simply says \"the tax exists, it's 40%, and it's imposed as an excise.\""},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act does not itself rewrite the substantive assessment rules; it imposes the tax (40%), ties the imposition to the constitutional excise limit, incorporates the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 for mechanics, and excludes State property. In effect it establishes imposition and rate while leaving base, deductions and administration to the incorporated Assessment Act (ss 3–6)."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional limitation: tax imposed only “so far as” it is an excise under s55 introduces legal uncertainty about scope and may trigger constitutional challenges (s4(2)).","Incorporation: the Act incorporates the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987, so substantive base, exemptions and compliance rules are in another statute (s3).","Retroactivity window: the imposition is expressed to apply from the year beginning 1 July 1986, creating potential retrospective application issues (s4(3)).","High statutory rate: a fixed 40% rate (s5) has material behavioural and commercial effects on project economics and contracting choices.","Limited text: the Act sets imposition and rate but delegates most mechanics and administration to the incorporated Assessment Act, concentrating implementation detail elsewhere.","State property carve‑out: explicit exclusion of State property invokes section 114 concepts and requires factual/legal determinations about ownership (s6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act imposes a 40% tax on a person’s taxable profit from a petroleum project, to the extent that tax qualifies as an excise under section 55 of the Constitution, and applies from the year beginning 1 July 1986 (ss 4–5, 3). It affects companies and individuals carrying petroleum projects: they pay the tax, have lower after‑tax returns and must comply with the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 as incorporated (s3). The Act excludes State property (s6)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012","history":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/petroleum-resource-rent-tax-imposition-excise-act-2012/documents"}}