Important:
- To claim the R&D tax credit, you must submit a detailed statement online.
- In most instances, the last date for submitting a detailed statement was April 30 2010. Find out more
Routine collection of information
Excluded activities
Routine collection of information is excluded from being an SIE activity, although it can be a support activity.
Examples of excluded activities are the routine collection of data and information:
- to monitor change from the application of routine engineering or routine technical procedures
- to provide a baseline against which to monitor naturally occurring change
- for the purpose of quality control or inventory control
- to establish whether a product's characteristics are within the usual boundaries, for example monitoring:
- characteristics of natural products, such as milk, as they enter the commercial production process
- production processes
- for medical diagnostic purposes.
Can these activities be support activities?
Data collection may be a support activity if it records the results of SIE activities.
If you are obtaining data as an input to your SIE activities you will need to take care that it meets the requirements for a support activity.
To be eligible, the data must be all of the following:
- wholly or mainly for the purpose of the SIE activities
- required for the SIE activities
- integral to the SIE activities.
Example - routine collection of information
A business obtains data about the composition of a natural product for quality control purposes. The information is further analysed as an input to eligible R&D relating to the development of new products.
The costs of collecting the data are ineligible as the data collection is not wholly or mainly for the SIE activity. Further analysis undertaken to support the SIE activities is eligible as a support activity, provided it is required for and integral to the R&D.
Note: Examples are simplified. You should check the detailed R&D information and/or consult your professional advisor.
New Zealand legislation
Income Tax Act 2007
- schedule 21 part C, clause 6
- LH 7(1)(b)
- LH 7(2)(b)
Date published: 30 Sep 2008
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