Understanding ‘exploration’, ‘use’ and ‘first use’ in the Full Court’s Shell decision

As detailed by Angelina Lagana, James Macky, Damien Williams and Jack Aquilina, the decision is likely to be welcomed by industry, as it represents a comprehensive win to the taxpayer with favourable interpretations of both ‘exploration’ and ‘use’.

The Full Federal Court has held in favour of Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited (Shell) in an important decision concerning the meaning of the terms ‘exploration’ and ‘first use’ in the context of depreciating assets under Division 40 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (ITAA 97). In Commissioner of Taxation v Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited [2022] FCAFC 2 (Davies J with whom Allsop CJ and Thawley J agreed) (Decision), the Full Court considered a principal appeal by the ...

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Authors: Angelina Lagana, James Macky,

Published Date: 31 January 2022