Adani's Australian Coal Operations Avoid Company Tax Despite Nearly $1 Billion Revenue

Indian conglomerate Adani will pay no company tax despite generating almost $1bn in revenue from coal mining in Queensland over the past year.

Financial accounts show the Carmichael thermal coal operations used large costs – including production and related party logistics expenses – to offset its $963.5m revenue in the 12 months to 31 March. This resulted in a recorded $340.6m loss for the year, erasing its tax bill.

Guardian Australia analysis of company accounts shows the mining project has never paid corporate tax after opening in 2021, despite past pledges by Adani that the operations would plough billions of dollars in taxes and royalties into the economy.

Adani Mining’s accounts show that it paid $58m in royalties in the 12-month period. Royalties are payments made to governments to extract state-owned minerals. Adani also paid a $33.1m royalty to a related party.

Tim Buckley, a former investment banker and the director of Climate Energy Finance, said the company was structured so that it wouldn’t pay corporate tax in Australia.

“This is a perfect example of why Australia needs new rules that ensure foreign entities have a sensible capital structure,” said Buckley, who advocates for changes that would limit the amount of deductions a business can make to reduce tax.

Adani’s project approval in central Queensland’s Galilee Basin was fiercely contested, opening a new jurisdiction of thermal coal extraction that raised environmental concerns.

Industry groups supporting the conglomerate had claimed Adani’s project would fund schools, hospitals and other infrastructure for “almost a century” through mining taxes and royalties.

A spokesperson for Adani Mining said the project provided direct jobs for more than 1,400 Queenslanders last financial year.

“We comply fully with our state and commonwealth taxation and royalty obligations and our statutory profit and tax outcomes are determined in accordance with Australian accounting standards and the corporations act,” the spokesperson said.

The Carmichael operations opened during a prosperous time for coalminers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global energy prices soaring in 2022. Coal prices are now also being supported by energy supply constraints caused by conflict in the Middle East.

The Adani-controlled Abbot Point port business, named North Queensland Export Terminal, also did not pay any company tax over the most recent 12-month reporting period, despite earning $356.6m.

Various operating expenses lead to a $6.8m loss, with no tax payable.

The terminal business’s chief executive, Mark Smith, said accounts were prepared in accordance with Australian accounting standards and reflect the capital-intensive nature of owning and operating major export infrastructure.

“The terminal plays an important role in supporting Queensland trade and we remain focused on delivering safe, reliable, and efficient export services for our customers,” Smith said.