Serviceeftersyn af vilkårene for kulbrinteudvinding ... - Skatteministeriet

Fiscal Comparison/Exploration Attractiveness
4.6 Netherlands fiscal terms
Summary of current fiscal terms
The Netherlands has a concession fiscal regime where the applicable taxes, and the level of State participation, vary with
the location and vintage of the licence. The state participates through Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), normally with a
40% share (EBN participation is 50% for licences issued under 1976 Royal Decree) and including the exploration phase,
through a so-called ‘cost company’ structure, similar to a joint venture.
Royalty has been abolished for offshore licences, and for onshore licences varies with production rate and the level of
state participation. Corporate income tax, at a rate of 25.5%, is payable, but is deductible against an additional profits
tax (known as Production Profit Tax (PPT) or State Profit Share (SPS)) which has a rate of 50%, and hence the total tax
payable is, effectively, the PPT rate (50%).
In 2010, the government introduced an extra 25% investment deduction on investments from PPT (not CIT) for selected
marginal fields.
Flowchart of Netherlands Fiscal System for new fields
4.6.1 Netherlands current fiscal terms
Licence Terms
The Netherlands has an open licensing system in place with all unlicensed acreage available for allocation. Once an
application has been made for a block, competitive applications will be accepted for a period of 13 weeks following the
publicising of the initial application, after which the Ministry will evaluate the applications and allocate the licence.
Licence periods reflect the work commitments offered, rather than being fixed. An exploration licence may be retained
after the expiry date only if the company has an application for a production licence outstanding on the licence with the
approval of the government. An application for production may only be made if a commercial discovery has been
made. The definition of a commercial discovery was extremely debatable under the 1967 Royal Decree legislation whilst
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