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Who must give us a GPFS

Last updated 15 July 2021

You must give us a GPFS if you:

  • are a corporate tax entity (that is, a company, corporate limited partnership or public trading trust) for the income year
  • are a CBC reporting entity for the income year
  • are an Australian resident or a foreign resident operating an Australian permanent establishment (PE), at the end of the income year
  • don't lodge a GPFS with ASIC for the financial year most closely corresponding to the income year within the time provided under subsection 319(3) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act).

You must give us a GPFS regardless of whether you are a reporting entity under Australian Accounting Standards.

You are considered to have lodged a GPFS with ASIC if you lodge it with an operator of an eligible financial market, as in the ASIC Corporations (Electronic Lodgment of Financial Reports) Instrument 2016/181.

Any relief or exclusion provided under the Corporations Act or by ASIC in relation to your obligation to prepare or lodge financial reports doesn't affect your obligation to give us a GPFS (GPFS obligation). For example, you must give us a GPFS if you are either a:

  • grandfathered large proprietary company relieved from lodging financial reports under the Corporations Act
  • head company of a multiple entry consolidated (MEC) group that is otherwise relieved by ASIC from preparing financial reports under Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act.

Summary of your obligation to give us a GPFS

To assist your understanding of your GPFS obligation, the most common scenarios are set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Common scenarios

Type of scenario

GPFS obligation

1. You:

  • lodge a GPFS with ASIC within the stipulated time, or
  • are a subsidiary member of an Australian tax consolidated group or a MEC group, except where you enter or leave that group part-way through the income year.

 

None.

See also:

 

2. You:

  • are required to lodge a GPFS with ASIC, but you do not do so
  • lodge special purpose financial statements (SPFS) with ASIC
  • are required to prepare, but not lodge financial reports with ASIC (for example, grandfathered large proprietary companies), or
  • are otherwise relieved from preparing financial reports by ASIC because your parent lodges consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards (incorporating your financial position and performance) with ASIC.

 

You must give us a GPFS prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards.

See also:

 

3. You are an Australian resident for tax purposes, and you are:

  • not subject to the Corporations Act (for example, corporate limited partnerships)
  • not subject to Part 2M.3 of that Act (for example, certain small proprietary companies), or
  • otherwise relieved from preparing financial reports by ASIC because        
    • you are a small proprietary company controlled by a foreign company that is not part of a large group, or
    • your foreign parent lodges consolidated financial statements with ASIC, which are prepared in accordance with accounting standards applicable in your parent's home country.
     

 

You must give us a GPFS (stand-alone or consolidated) prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards or other commercially accepted accounting principles (CAAP).

See also:

 

4. You are a foreign resident operating a PE and did not lodge a GPFS with ASIC (for example, registered foreign companies).

In most circumstances, you are required to give us a GPFS prepared in accordance with CAAP.

See also:

 

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