About class rulings
A class ruling is a type of public ruling that explains how a relevant provision of the tax law is applied to a specific class of people for a particular arrangement being ruled upon (called a scheme).
The purpose of a class ruling is to provide certainty to those people on how the tax law applies and avoid the need for them to individually seek private rulings.
If you would like to discuss your issue with us prior to applying, you can submit a request for early engagement for advice.
When you should consider applying
You should consider applying for a class ruling when you need advice on the tax consequences of a scheme for a specific class of people – for example, when:
- an employer seeks advice on the tax consequences of retention bonuses for employees
- an employer seeks advice on the tax consequences of an employee share scheme for employees
- a company seeks advice on the tax consequences for its shareholders of a restructure, a split or consolidation of its shares, a demerger or a share capital return
- a public company seeks advice on the application of the scrip-for-scrip rollover provisions to its shareholders
- a federal, state, or territory government or authority seeks advice on a proposed transaction or arrangement that affects multiple employees or participants.
We don't issue class rulings in relation to investment schemes and similar products because product rulings are issued for this purpose.
Conditions for issuing class rulings
The issue of a class ruling for a particular scheme is generally conditional on the applicant:
- acknowledging that the ruling will reveal
- the name of the entities involved as principals in carrying out the scheme
- the name and description of the scheme
- a description of the agreements, deeds and transactions to which the participants are parties
- obtaining express consent to be named from the principal parties named in the ruling
- verifying that the description of the scheme contained in the proposed ruling is accurate.