Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 681

Allowance for mine rehabilitation expenditure

Section 681 provides tax relief for expenditure incurred on the rehabilitation of qualifying mine sites after they cease to be worked, and for payments made into a mine rehabilitation fund during the life of the mine.

• A person who incurs rehabilitation expenditure on a qualifying mine site may claim an allowance equal to the net cost of the rehabilitation, that is, the excess of rehabilitation expenditure over any incidental receipts from the rehabilitation process.
• Where a mine rehabilitation fund has been certified by the Minister, the person working the mine may claim an annual allowance based on the total scheduled payments spread evenly over the estimated life of the mine, but cumulative allowances may not exceed cumulative payments actually made into the fund.
• Payments received from the fund by the mining company or a connected person are clawed back as trading income to the extent of allowances previously given, and if the Minister amends the certificate, the allowances are adjusted accordingly with any excess treated as a trading receipt.
• Where a mining trade is transferred, the transferee steps into the shoes of the transferor for all purposes of the section, and rehabilitation expenditure that qualifies for an allowance under this section cannot qualify for relief under any other provision.