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Industry guidelines
Nga aratohu ahumahi

What are listed research providers?

What is a listed research provider (LRP)?

An LRP is a research provider listed on our website, who has completed the listing process with us. They provide R&D services under contract to other businesses.

LRPs conduct research on behalf of unassociated businesses. A business who believes that their eligible R&D expenditure is likely to be less than $20,000 may qualify for the R&D tax credit if it uses an LRP to do this research.

The business contracting the services of an LRP retains control of the eligible R&D activities, bears the financial risk, and effectively owns any results of the R&D activities. This business may claim the R&D tax credit.

LRPs are not eligible to claim the R&D tax credit for work contracted by other businesses.

What is an LRP required to do?

To be eligible for listing, providers are required to meet the LRP criteria. We may perform checks to ensure LRPs continue to meet these criteria.

The following table describes the LRP criteria.

Criteria Further details
You must have the capability to perform contracted eligible R&D.

The R&D services you provide must be systematic, investigative and experimental in order to be eligible R&D.

Find out what are eligible R&D activities.

This may be demonstrated by:

  • records of past work,
  • employee qualifications, or
  • industry experience.
You must have R&D facilities in New Zealand.

Facilities:

  • must be related to the R&D you provide services for, and
  • may be rented or leased.
You must charge fees on commercial (arm's-length) terms. Fees must be at an open-market rate.
You must be available to undertake work on behalf of multiple unrelated organisations. To determine if the businesses are sufficiently unrelated, see sections YB 2, 5, 9-12, 16, 17 and 20 of the Income Tax Act 2007.

You must maintain records to show:

  • you meet these criteria, and
  • the amounts of income derived and incurred in carrying out R&D on behalf of others.

Records may be used by:

  • us during a review to establish LRP criteria are being met,
  • the contracting business to apply for the R&D tax credit.

What else do I need to know?

Your information

Some of the information you provide will be published online in the list of registered providers. Published details will include the provider name, website address and research services offered. You may also choose to have some other contact details included.

We take no responsibility for any use the public may make of this information, or any other unforeseen consequences of this information being available from our website.

Update LRP details

You may update your details (ie, contact details, research services) at any time by contacting us.

Review of LRP status

We may review LRPs at any time to ensure the LRP criteria are being met. Providers may be selected for review based on a random sample, industry review or third party information. Providers not meeting the criteria will be removed from the list of research providers on our website.

Removal from LRP status

You can request to be removed from the list of research providers at any time, by contacting us. We may also remove a provider from the list if a review indicates that the provider no longer meets the LRP criteria.

Providers that have been removed can reapply for LRP status at any time, as long as all LRP criteria are met.

Learn more

 


Date published: 24 Mar 2009

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