A New Tax System (Indirect Tax and Consequential Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1999 (177 of 1999)

Schedule 1   Indirect Tax Acts

Part 1   Amendment of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

108   At the end of Part 4-5

Add:

Division 149 - Government entities

149-1 What this Division is about

Parts of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory may register even if they are not separate legal entities. Once registered, they may become liable for GST and entitled to input tax credits. Government entities may also form GST groups.

149-5 Government entities may register

(1) A *government entity may apply to be *registered under section 23-10 even if:

(a) it is not an entity; and

(b) it is not *carrying on an *enterprise or is not intending to carry on an enterprise.

(2) For the purposes of subsections 25-5(1) and (3), the Commissioner is to treat the government entity as an entity.

(3) The Commissioner must *register the government entity whether or not the Commissioner is satisfied that it is *carrying on an *enterprise or intending to carry on an enterprise.

(4) This section has effect despite section 23-10 (which is about who may be registered) and modifies the effect of section 25-5 (which is about when the Commissioner must register an entity).

149-10 Government entities are not required to be registered

(1) A *government entity is not *required to be registered even if:

(a) it is *carrying on an *enterprise; and

(b) its *annual turnover meets the *registration turnover threshold.

(2) This subsection has effect despite section 23-5.

149-15 This Act applies to registered government entities

For the purposes of this Act, a *government entity that is *registered is treated, while its registration has effect, as if it were an entity carrying on an *enterprise.

149-20 Government entities not required to cancel their registration

Section 25-50 and subsection 25-55(2) (which are about cancelling registration) do not apply to *government entities.

149-25 Membership requirements of a government GST group

A *government related entity satisfies the membership requirements for a *GST group, or a proposed GST group, of government related entities if:

(a) it is *registered; and

(b) it is not a *member of any other GST group; and

(c) it has the same tax periods applying to it as the tax periods applying to all the other members of the GST group or proposed GST group; and

(d) it accounts on the same basis as all those other members; and

(e) all those other members are government related entities.

Note: Some government related entities can still use section 48-10 to satisfy the membership requirements of GST groups.