James Hardie in trading halt

AAP

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JAMES Hardie Industries SE has gone into a trading halt pending a decision by the Federal Court regarding the company's appeal against an amended tax office assessment.

The Federal Court was due to hand down its decision at 1415 AEST.

RCI Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned James Hardie subsidiary, appealed the amended notice of assessment in the Federal Court last September.

The assessment relates to RCI's 1999 income tax and was issued by the Australian Taxation Office in 2006.

James Hardie said if it was successful, it expected to recover around $274.8 million of payments made under the amended assessment.

However, if the Federal Court finds against RCI, it is likely a charge of around $US330.4 million ($366.62 million) will need to be recorded, while the appeal process continues.