Australian Full Federal Court Overturns Earlier Judgment Regarding Royalty Withholding Tax and Diverted Profits Tax in PepsiCo v Commissioner of Taxation

On 26 June 2024, the full Federal Court of Australia issued its judgment in PepsiCo, Inc v Commissioner of Taxation (2024) FCAFC 86. The judgment follows an appeal of an earlier judgment issued in November 2023 concerning whether PepsiCo was liable for royalty withholding tax or, in the alternative, diverted profits tax.

The case involved an arrangement (two separate agreements) where Schweppes Australia Pty Ltd was the sole distributor and bottler in Australia for certain PepsiCo beverag…