Making an adjustment
Sometimes you may need to change the amount of fuel tax credits you have claimed – you can do this by making an adjustment or by correcting an error (previously known as a mistake).
If you claim more fuel tax credits than you are eligible for, penalties and interest charges may apply.
These arrangements only apply to fuel tax credit adjustments and errors.
You must make an adjustment when you use the fuel for a different purpose than the one you intended at the time you acquired, imported or manufactured it, resulting in a change to your entitlement – that is, your entitlement was correct at the time you acquired the fuel and made a claim, but your actual use of the fuel later changed.
If you must make an adjustment, you should account for it in the period you actually use the fuel for another purpose.
Example: Adjustment
Mia is a primary producer and is exempt from the carbon charge for fuel used in off-road agricultural activities. On 1 September 2012, she acquires 10,000 litres of diesel to use in her combine harvester. The full fuel tax credit rate for diesel is 38.143 cents per litre, so Mia claims fuel tax credits of $3,814 on her BAS for the quarterly tax period ending 30 September 2012.
During November, Mia uses 1,000 litres of the diesel in her one-tonne utility that she uses for driving to and from town. Because she is not entitled to claim fuel tax credits for this fuel (because it is used in a vehicle with a GVM of 4.5 tonne or less travelling on public roads), Mia must make a fuel tax credit adjustment on her next BAS.
End of exampleFuel used to power auxiliary equipment of a heavy vehicle
Special rules apply if you are amending previous fuel tax credit claims for fuel used to power auxiliary equipment of a heavy vehicle travelling on a public road, if both the following apply:
- you previously claimed for liquid fuels (such as, diesel or petrol) using a fuel tax credit rate that was reduced by the road user charge, or you didn't claim for gaseous fuels because the road user charge reduced your entitlement to nil
- the amendment is within the time limits.
See also
Correcting an error
An error generally means you have claimed fuel tax credits on a BAS when you were not entitled to (debit error), or when you were entitled to a greater amount (credit error).
Errors might be the result of a preparation error – for example, you may have:
- transcribed the wrong final figure into fuel tax credit label 7D
- worked out your entitlement using the wrong fuel tax credit rate
- claimed all of the fuel you acquired, instead of just the portion of fuel that is eligible – for example, you may have claimed for the fuel used in all your vehicles, instead of just the heavy vehicles.
Example: Debit error
When Michelle was working out her quarterly BAS, she realised that when she had completed her previous BAS she had wrongly claimed fuel tax credits for the fuel she used in the ute she drives on public roads. This meant her calculations were wrong and she had entered the wrong amount at label 7D on her BAS.
Michelle works out that she had accidentally over-claimed $70 in fuel tax credits, so she includes the $70 at label 7C on her current BAS.
End of exampleIn some circumstances, you can correct errors on your current BAS, but there are rules and limits about when you can do this.
See Fuel tax credits – making adjustments and correcting errors for more information.
Penalties and interest charges
You may be liable for a penalty if you claim more fuel tax credits than you are eligible for. You may also have to pay a general interest charge (GIC), which will be worked out from either the due date of the BAS on which you made the over- claim, or the BAS to which the adjustment relates.
Penalties and the GIC may apply in either of the following circumstances:
- you are correcting an error that reduces your entitlement to fuel tax credits and (as a consequence of not meeting the value and time limits) the correction must be made by revising the BAS in which the mistake occurred
- you became aware of an adjustment that reduces your entitlement to fuel tax credits and you did not adjust the BAS for the tax period in which you became aware of that adjustment.
If we conduct an audit or review and as a result you must repay over-claimed fuel tax credits, the GIC will apply and you may have to pay a penalty. You can claim GIC as a deduction on your business’s income tax return.
If you receive an overpayment of fuel tax credits, the overpaid amount should be treated as tax that is due – this means that you must repay the overpayment, plus any penalties and the GIC owing from the date of the overpayment.
See Fuel tax credits – making adjustments and correcting errors for more information.