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ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2004/227

Goods and Services Tax

GST and government GST group members in different government portfolios
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you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed.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 government related entity, continue to satisfy the government GST group membership requirements in section 149-25 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when other government agencies that are members of the entity's government GST group transfer to a different government portfolio?

Decision

Yes, the entity does continue to satisfy the government GST group membership requirements in section 149-25 of the GST Act when other government agencies that are members of the entity's government GST group transfer to a different government portfolio.

Facts

The entity is a government related entity that is in a particular government portfolio. The entity is registered for goods and services tax (GST).

The entity satisfied the government GST group membership requirements in section 149-25 of the GST Act and formed a government GST group with other government agencies that met the grouping requirements. At the time of forming the GST group, the entity and the other government agencies were attached to the same government portfolio.

The other government agencies are now transferring to a different government portfolio.

Reasons for Decision:

Section 149-25 of the GST Act sets out the requirements that a government related entity must satisfy to be a member of a government GST group.

The entity satisfied the government GST group membership requirements as set out in section 149-25 of the GST Act and formed a government GST group with other government agencies. The other government agencies are now transferring to a different government portfolio while the entity will remain in the same government portfolio. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether government related entities need to be in the same government portfolio for the purposes of section 149-25 of the GST Act.

Under section 149-25 of the GST Act, a government related entity satisfies the membership requirements for a GST group, or a proposed GST group, of government related entities if the entity:

•
is registered for GST
•
is not a member of any other GST group
•
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
•
accounts on the same basis as all those other members, and
•
all those members are government related entities.

The requirements of section 149-25 of the GST Act do not require that a government related entity must be in the same government portfolio as other members of the GST group.

Therefore, the entity continues to satisfy the government GST group membership requirements in section 149-25 of the GST Act when the other government agencies transfer to a different government portfolio.

Note: Where all members of a government GST group satisfy the membership requirements of section 149-25 of the GST Act, the group will be subject to the GST group provisions contained in Subdivisions 48-B and 48-C of the GST Act.

Date of decision:  29 May 2002

Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
   Subdivision 48-B
   Subdivision 48-C
   section 149-25

Keywords
Goods and services tax
GST groups
Government related entities

Business Line:  GST

Date of publication:  12 March 2004

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
You are here → 29 May 2002 Original statement
  25 November 2005 Archived

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