High Court rules in favour of PepsiCo in landmark tax case

In a significant ruling, the High Court of Australia has dismissed the Commissioner of Taxation’s appeal against PepsiCo, finding there to be no royalty withholding tax liability and no application of the diverted profits tax.

The High Court of Australia, on 13 August 2025, handed down its judgment in respect of the Commissioner of Taxation’s (Commissioner) appeals of the Full Federal Court decision of PepsiCo, Inc v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCAFC 86. In this highly anticipated decision, PepsiCo, Inc (PepsiCo) and Stokely-Van Camp, Inc (SVC) were narrowly successful in a 4:3 split decision. The majority of the High Court dismissed the Commissioner’s appeals, finding there to be no royalty withholding tax (RW...

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Authors: Paul Sorrell, Jennifer Ta,

Published Date: 21 August 2025