Public Ruling MRA001.2 Determination of coal royalty

Coal subject to royalty

5. For minerals other than coal seam gas, the royalty payable in relation to a particular mining operation⁵ for a return period is determined by reference to minerals sourced from that operation that are sold, disposed of or used in the return period.⁶ This is the case irrespective of whether the minerals were:
   1. extracted before or during the return period
   2. extracted by the holder or by some other person
   3. sold, disposed of or used by the holder or by some other person.
6. Royalty must be calculated separately for each mining operation for which the producer is liable to pay royalty.
7. Royalty is payable in relation to all coal sold during a return period, irrespective of when (or if) the producer receives full or partial payment for such sales. That is, royalty is not calculated on a cash receipts basis.
8. For the purposes of calculating royalty, coal that is transferred from one of the producer’s mining operations to another will be deemed to have been sold or disposed of by the first operation (depending on whether the second operation pays for the coal).⁷

Calculation of royalty rate

9. The royalty rate for coal for a return period is calculated by reference to the average price per tonne of the coal sold, disposed of or used in that period (average price, or AP) by a producer in relation to a particular mining operation, as follows:
   1. If the average price is $100 or less, the rate is 7% of the value of the coal.
   2. If the average price is more than $100 but not more than $150, the rate is worked out using the following formula (rounded down to 2 decimal places and expressed as a percentage).

   7 + ((AP – 100) ÷ AP × 5.5)

   3. If the average price is more than $150, the rate is worked out using the following formula (rounded down to two decimal places and expressed as a percentage).

   7 + ((AP – 100) ÷ AP × 5.5) + ((AP – 150) ÷ AP × 2.5)

10. Expressed differently, the rate to be applied to the value of the coal sold, disposed of or used in a period is as follows.

11. The royalty rate must be calculated separately:
    1. for each mining operation for which the producer is liable to pay royalty
    2. for coal sold or disposed of for consumption, or used, inside Queensland (domestic coal) and coal sold or disposed of for consumption, or used, outside Queensland (export coal).⁸
12. For the purposes of calculating royalty (including the royalty rate), export coal includes coal where title passes from the producer at the port of loading (or another location within Queensland) and the coal is ultimately being sent for consumption to a destination outside of Queensland. This includes situations where coal is sold free-on-board, and title to the coal is passed once the coal passes the ship’s rail. Export coal includes coal that is used by the producer outside Queensland.
13. The average price per tonne for coal:
    1. sold in a return period is calculated by dividing the net revenue billed by the total invoiced payable tonnes for the period
    2. disposed of or used in a return period is calculated by dividing the gross value of the total coal disposed of or used, as determined under a gross value royalty decision⁹, by the total tonnes disposed of or used for the period.
14. Subject to paragraph 15, the net revenue billed for a return period is:
    1. in respect of export coal—the total revenue billed for the export coal during the return period (determined in accordance with paragraph 27) less any freight or insurance costs payable by the producer and relating to the transport of the coal by water to a port outside Queensland¹⁰
    2. in respect of domestic coal—the total revenue billed for the domestic coal during the return period determined in accordance with paragraph 27
       with:
    3. any foreign currency amounts converted into Australian dollars at the prevailing exchange rate¹¹ for the bill of lading date (for export coal) or the invoice date (for domestic coal) (the relevant date)
       and
    4. no regard to the timing of receipt, or the recoverability from any given buyer, of any part of the total revenue billed (i.e. ignoring that some of the revenue billed may ultimately be written off by the producer as a bad debt).
15. Where the coal sold during a return period is the subject of a gross value royalty decision¹², the total revenue billed for that coal must be calculated by reference to the gross value of the coal under that decision rather than any revenue actually billed.¹³
16. Any exchange rate variations between the relevant date and the date of receipt of funds are not taken into account when calculating net revenue billed, but are relevant for calculating the value of coal to which the royalty rate is applied.¹⁴
17. Subject to paragraph 18, the total invoiced payable tonnes for a return period is the total number of tonnes sold during the period, after deducting any contractually agreed weight-based penalties incurred during that period.
18. Where a producer is paid for a particular sale on the basis of the number of dry metric tonnes sold (rather than the actual number of tonnes physically sold), the total invoiced payable tonnes should be calculated with reference to the number of dry metric tonnes sold in that transaction.

Example 1

Value of coal

Calculation

19. The value of coal is calculated¹⁵ by:
    1. determining the gross value of the coal¹⁶
    2. adding:
       1. any amount received by the producer for early despatch of the coal from a port¹⁷
       2. subject to paragraph 20, any increase in value as a result of a change in the exchange rate from the time the coal is sold to the time any payment for the sale is received¹⁸
          and
    3. subtracting:
       1. subject to paragraph 20, any decrease in value as a result of a change in the exchange rate from the time the coal is sold to the time any payment for the sale is received¹⁹
       2. any costs payable by the producer relating to a late despatch of the coal from a port (i.e. demurrage charges)²⁰
       3. a freight or insurance cost payable by the producer relating to the transport of the coal by water to a port outside Queensland²¹
       4. any other cost payable by the producer that the Commissioner has decided, on reasonable grounds, is a type of cost that should be subtracted from the gross value.²²
20. Where coal is the subject of a gross value royalty decision²³, the increase or decrease in value referred to in paragraph 19(b)(ii) or 19(c)(i) should be calculated by reference to the gross value of the coal under that decision rather than any revenue actually billed.
21. For the purposes of paragraphs 14(a) and 19(c), an expense is ‘payable’ if there is a presently existing liability to pay it, even if payment is not due until a future date (e.g. the producer has received an invoice from a service provider, which is payable 30 days after the date of issue).
22. For the purposes of paragraphs 14(a) and 19(c)(iii), only freight and insurance costs attributable to activities occurring, or risks arising, after coal is loaded on a vessel may be deducted. Accordingly, any other freight- or insurance-related costs payable by the producer may not be deducted in this category²⁴, including but not limited to costs associated with:
    1. transporting the coal to the point of loading, or insuring the coal before that point
    2. preparing the coal for loading, or loading the coal, onto a vessel.
23. All calculations involving the conversion of foreign currency into Australian dollars for a particular period should use an exchange rate for the appropriate date²⁵ obtained from a consistent, reasonable external source. Examples of an exchange rate that is considered reasonable include the hedge settlement rate²⁶, the WM/Reuters Australian Dollar Fix 4.00pm rate, or a rate published by a major Australian commercial bank or financial institution.
24. The value of coal must be calculated exclusive of the goods and services tax (GST)—that is, reflecting the net revenue or expense.
25. The value of coal must be calculated separately:
    1. for each mining operation for which the producer is liable to pay royalty
    2. for domestic coal and export coal sourced from each mining operation.

Gross value

26. Subject to the adjustments noted below, the gross value of coal is the amount set out in the following table.

27. Subject to paragraph 28, the amount for which the coal is sold includes all amounts paid or payable by the buyer in relation to the sale (including, but not limited to, production or other costs of the producer that are explicitly recovered from the buyer in addition to the stated sales price). This is the case even if such amounts are invoiced separately.
28. Amounts paid by a buyer to a producer on account of the following will not be included when determining the amount for which coal is sold:
    1. recovery of the producer’s liability for GST on taxable supplies³⁸ made by the producer to the buyer
    2. an amount representing interest received where coal is sold on an extended credit basis.
29. It is not uncommon for producers to sell coal to one another for the purpose of blending or fulfilling a particular contract. For example, Producer A sells coal to an unrelated entity, Producer B, at the port; and Producer B exports the coal to its customer overseas. In such a case, subject to any contractual term to the contrary, the amount for which Producer B ultimately sells the coal is not relevant for working out the value of the coal sold by Producer A (i.e. Producer A’s sale price for royalty purposes is not adjusted to reflect any gain or loss made by Producer B in relation to the on-sale of the coal).³⁹
30. Neither the gross value nor the value of coal is reduced by any amount:
    1. payable by the producer to the buyer, irrespective of whether the parties agree to offset such amounts against the amount payable to the producer for the coal
    2. invoiced by the producer to a buyer but not recovered from the buyer (i.e. a bad debt).

Example 2

31. Where a gross value royalty decision is required, s.62 of the Mineral Resources Regulation sets out a non-exhaustive list of matters that may be considered in making the decision.

Other costs deductible from gross value

32. For the purposes of s.54(1)(b)(iii) of the Mineral Resources Regulation, the following costs (each a deductible cost) payable by a producer may be deducted from the gross value of export or domestic coal when calculating the value of the coal:
    1. assay costs payable directly in relation to the sale of the coal (e.g. train sampling and port stockpile sampling)
    2. coal research levy payable for the Australian Coal Association Research Program
    3. COAL21 levy payable to LET Australia Ltd
    4. the levy payable under the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Act 1992 (Cwlth) and/or associated legislation in respect of employees directly employed by the producer.
33. Where a cost referred to in paragraph 32 relates to both export and domestic coal, the cost must be apportioned on a reasonable basis when calculating the gross value of each type of coal. What constitutes a reasonable basis will depend on, among other things, the nature of the particular cost and the manner in which it is incurred.
34. In addition, for the purposes of section 54(1)(b)(iii) of the Mineral Resources Regulation, the following costs (each a deductible cost) payable by a producer may be deducted from the gross value when calculating the value of export coal:
    1. port operating costs payable by the producer directly to an operator of a port facility (e.g. port access charges under take-or-pay contracts, harbour dues and coal loading charges)
    2. amounts payable to another entity as reimbursement for costs actually paid by the other entity to the operator of a port facility (i.e. amounts paid to the other entity as a ‘premium’ or as a service or administrative fee may not be deducted)
    3. non-refundable capital contributions for the building of port infrastructure, on the basis that a deduction equal to 3.679088% of the producer’s contribution to the cost may be claimed in each quarterly return period for a period of 10 years from the time at which the contribution was made
    4. expenditure on capital items at a port (other than expenditure referred to in paragraph 34(c)), as follows:
       1. where the total cost of the relevant item is less than or equal to $50,000—the expenditure may be fully claimed as a deduction in the return period in which it was incurred
       2. where the total cost of the relevant item is more than $50,000—a deduction equal to 3.679088% of the expenditure may be claimed in each quarterly return period for a period of 10 years from the time at which the expenditure was incurred
    5. commission payable to an agent to sell products received by the producer as part of a countertrade arrangement (an arrangement where the producer is required to acquire products from a particular country as a condition of selling coal into that country)
    6. bank commissions payable in relation to the issuing of letters of credit for export shipments.
35. A deductible cost may be deducted from the gross value only to the extent that it is a reasonable amount. What constitutes a reasonable amount will depend on, among other things, the nature of the particular cost, the manner in which it is incurred and whether the cost is payable to a relevant entity⁴⁰ for the producer.
36. A deductible cost may be deducted from the gross value only to the extent that the producer does not receive reimbursement for the deductible cost from another person, whether reimbursement occurs during the return period, or at a later or earlier time. A reimbursement is a repayment of an expense of or loss incurred by a producer and includes where a direct repayment of the cost is made by a person to the producer or by other means, for example, the payment of compensation.
37. Where a producer incurs a cost referred to in paragraph 19(c) or a deductible cost that relates to multiple operations of the producer, the cost should be apportioned between the operations on a fair and reasonable basis. What constitutes a fair and reasonable basis will depend on, among other things, the nature of the particular cost and the manner in which it is incurred.
38. To avoid any doubt, any cost that is not referred to in paragraphs 19(c), 32 or 34 cannot be deducted from the gross value of coal when calculating the value of the coal, even if that cost is necessarily incurred by the producer in connection with producing or selling the coal.
39. Without limiting paragraph 38, the following costs cannot be deducted when calculating the value of coal:
    1. costs associated with the transportation of coal by road or by rail (including capital contributions for the building of road or rail infrastructure)
    2. marketing costs and sales commissions (other than a commission referred to in paragraph 34(e))
    3. coal royalty
    4. amounts relating to the sale of coal that are deemed to be irrecoverable (i.e. bad and doubtful debts)
    5. losses arising from currency hedging activities.