ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2002/870

Goods and Services Tax

LCT and registration and stamp duty for luxury cars
FOI status: may be released

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CAUTION: This is an edited and summarised record of a Tax Office decision. This record is not published as a form of advice. It is being made available for your inspection to meet FOI requirements, because it may be used by an officer in making another decision.

This ATOID provides you with the following level of protection:

If you reasonably apply this decision in good faith to your own circumstances (which are not materially different from those described in the decision), and the decision is later found to be incorrect you will not be liable to pay any penalty or interest. However, you will be required to pay any underpaid tax (or repay any over-claimed credit, grant or benefit), provided the time limits under the law allow it. If you do intend to apply this decision to your own circumstances, you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed. You may wish to obtain further advice from the Tax Office or from a professional adviser.

Issue

Does the entity, a car dealer, include vehicle registration and stamp duty paid by a customer in the 'luxury car tax value' as defined in section 5-20 of the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 (LCT Act)?

Decision

No, the entity does not include vehicle registration and stamp duty paid by a customer in the 'luxury car tax value' as defined in section 5-20 of the LCT Act.

Facts

The entity is a car dealer. The entity sells a luxury car. The sale is a taxable supply of a luxury car under section 5-10 of the LCT Act. The customer pays the entity an amount for vehicle registration and stamp duty.

Vehicle registration and stamp duty are charges imposed under Australian laws and are payable to Australian government agencies.

The entity is registered for goods and services tax (GST).

Reasons for Decision

Section 5-20 of the LCT Act defines the 'luxury car tax value' of a car. Subsection 5-20(1) of the LCT Act provides that the luxury car tax value is the price of the car excluding:

(a)
any luxury car tax for that supply; and
(b)
any other Australian tax, fee or charge, other than GST and customs duty payable on the supply of the car.

'Australian tax, fee or charge' is defined in section 27-1 of the LCT Act to have the meaning given by section 195-1 of the GST Act. Section 195-1 of the GST Act defines 'Australian tax, fee or charge' to mean:

a tax imposed under an Australian law; or
a fee or charge imposed under an Australian law and payable to an Australian government agency.

Vehicle registration and stamp duty are charges imposed under Australian laws and are payable to Australian government agencies. These amounts are for supplies made by Australian government agencies to the customer. Therefore, these charges are not consideration paid to the entity for the supply of the luxury car and would not be included in the price. Further, paragraph 5-20(1)(b) of the LCT Act specifically excludes charges imposed under an Australian law and payable to an Australian government agency from the price of a luxury car.

Therefore, the entity does not include the vehicle registration and stamp duty paid by the customer in the 'luxury car tax value' as defined in section 5-20 of the LCT Act.

Date of decision:  23 August 2001

Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
   section 195-1

A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999
   section 5-10
   section 5-20
   subsection 5-20(1)
   paragraph 5-20(1)(b)
   section 27-1

Related ATO Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2002/869
ATO ID 2002/871
ATO ID 2002/872

Other References:
Guide to Luxury Car Tax - NAT 3394
Luxury Car Tax Fact Sheet - NAT 2963

Keywords
Goods & services tax
GST Luxury Car Tax Stream

Business Line:  GST

Date of publication:  27 August 2002

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
You are here 23 August 2001 Original statement
  4 November 2005 Archived