Progress report 1 - Latest figures as at close of business 16 July 2012

The latest on processing

Current year returns*

Returns received since 1 July 2012	Returns finalised since 1 July 2012	Number of refunds issued since 1 July 2012	Value of refunds issued since 1 July 2012
917,000	210,000**	186,000	$0.47 billion

Previous and future year returns*

Returns received since 1 July 2012	Returns finalised since 1 July 2012	Number of refunds issued since 1 July 2012	Value of refunds issued since 1 July 2012
145,000	258,000**	122,000	$0.72 billion

* As at 16 July 2012
** Includes returns received prior to July 2012

For the period 10 July to 16 July we received 693,000 returns including 630,000 2012 year returns. During this same period, we issued 171,000 refunds with a value of $0.37 billion for 2012 year returns.

E-tax continues to grow in popularity, with 470,049 lodgements received to date, an increase of 19.45% on last year.

A major feature of e-tax is our pre-filling service that allows taxpayers to download information from a range of providers including financial institutions, employers and Government agencies including Medicare. Last year 73.5% of e-tax lodgers chose to pre-fill their tax returns. This year the service continues to improve with more pre-filling information being made available earlier in the financial year.

Processing is continuing in accordance with our plans and schedules with no major impacts on processing timeframes. We will continue to provide regular updates throughout Tax Time.

Call centre performance and wait times

From 1 July to 15 July 2012 we received 515,930 calls and achieved service levels of:

• Tax practitioner calls - 93.34% of calls answered within two minutes, and
• General taxpayer calls - 93.57% of calls answered within five minutes.

During this period the average wait time was 30 seconds for tax practitioner calls, and 1 minute 08 seconds for general taxpayer calls.

Why some returns may take longer

Some tax returns may take longer than others to finalise. For example, if your return contains an error, it needs to be checked by an ATO staff member. This is likely to cause a delay in issuing your assessment.

• A large number of the errors in tax returns are due to relatively simple mistakes such as spelling errors in names, incorrect gender code, or insufficient information provided (for example, the year of birth rather than the full date of birth). Checking that these details are correct before lodging your return will help prevent unnecessary delays occurring.

Other reasons a return could be delayed include:

• we require more information or need to cross check data with Centrelink or the Child Support Program (it can take up to three days to check information with another Government agency)
• it is a complex tax return and requires a large amount of manual checking by a tax officer, or
• it is identified as being potentially fraudulent or including overstated claims.

To check the progress of your tax return you can call our automated service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 13 28 61 for personal tax returns and 13 72 26 for business tax returns. Individuals can also check the progress of their personal tax return with our online progress of return tool. These free services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you need is your tax file number.

Fraudulent or over-claimed refunds

Our risk models are detecting and stopping suspected fraudulent and over claimed income tax refunds again this year. While early indicators suggest a reduced number of refunds detected compared to the same time last year we are very concerned that we continue to see significant numbers of people deliberately trying to lodge returns containing overstated claims or returns that are potentially fraudulent.

We have already had contact from a number of tax agents who have been approached to lodge income tax returns on behalf of clients using false documents. Tax agents will continue to ask new clients for proof of identity, together with other checks, to also help prevent potential fraud.