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Income Tax Act 2007

Income - Exempt income

CW 57: Non-resident company involved in exploration and development activities

You could also call this:

"Tax rules for non-resident companies exploring or developing offshore in New Zealand"

If you are a non-resident company doing exploration and development activities in an offshore permit area in New Zealand, you might not have to pay tax on the income you earn from this. This applies if you earn the income between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2029. You are doing exploration and development activities if you are operating a ship to provide seismic or electromagnetic survey readings or drilling an exploratory well.

Exploration and development activities do not include using a drilling rig on an existing offshore platform. An offshore permit area is an area of land in New Zealand that is on the seaward side of the mean high-water mark and is a permit area or part of a permit area. You can find more information about this by looking at the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2019–20, GST Offshore Supplier Registration, and Remedial Matters) Act 2019 and the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Act 2024.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1513306.

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Part CIncome
Exempt income

CW 57Non-resident company involved in exploration and development activities

  1. An amount of income derived by a non-resident company from exploration and development activities in an offshore permit area is exempt income if it is derived in the period that—

  2. starts on 1 January 2025; and
    1. ends on 31 December 2029.

      1. In this section,—

        exploration and development activities—

        1. means the following activities undertaken for the purposes of identifying and developing exploitable petroleum deposits or occurrences in an offshore permit area:
          1. operating a ship to provide seismic or electromagnetic survey readings:
            1. drilling an exploratory well or other well; but
            2. does not include using a drilling rig of modular construction that is installed on an existing offshore platform

              offshore permit area means an area of land that is—

              1. in New Zealand; and
                1. on the seaward side of the mean high-water mark; and
                  1. a permit area or part of a permit area.

                  Compare
                  Notes
                  • Section CW 57(1)(a): replaced, on , by section 51 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2019–20, GST Offshore Supplier Registration, and Remedial Matters) Act 2019 (2019 No 33).
                  • Section CW 57(1)(a): amended, on , by section 24(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Act 2024 (2024 No 11).
                  • Section CW 57(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 51 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2019–20, GST Offshore Supplier Registration, and Remedial Matters) Act 2019 (2019 No 33).
                  • Section CW 57(1)(b): amended, on , by section 24(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Act 2024 (2024 No 11).
                  • Section CW 57(2) exploration and development activities: replaced, on , by section 34(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).