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ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2002/444 (Withdrawn)

Goods and Services Tax

GST and Orthoptics
FOI status: may be released
  • This ATO ID is withdrawn as it is a simple restatement of the law and does not contain an interpretative decision.
    This document incorporates revisions made since original publication. View its history and amending notices, if applicable.

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you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed.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

Is the entity, an orthoptist, making a GST-free supply under subsection 38-10(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when it supplies orthoptic services to a patient?

Decision

No, the entity is not making a GST-free supply under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act when it supplies orthoptic services to a patient. The entity is making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act.

Facts

The entity is an orthoptist. The entity supplies orthoptic services to a patient. The entity is not a practitioner of any other health service. The entity does not supply the orthoptic services as a technique or a component of any other health services.

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

Reasons for Decision

Under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, an entity makes a GST-free supply of health services if:

•
it provides a service of a kind specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act or of a kind specified in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999 (GST Regulations) (paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act);
•
the entity is a recognised professional in relation to the supply of services of that kind (paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act); and
•
the supply would generally be accepted, in the profession associated with supplying services of that kind, as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the recipient of the supply (paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act).

Orthoptics is not specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act or the GST Regulations. Therefore, a supply of orthoptic services, in itself, does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act.

However, the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act is satisfied where the supplier is supplying one of the services specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act and orthoptics is a standard technique or a component of the supply of that specified service.

The entity in this case is an orthoptist supplying orthoptic services only. The entity is not supplying one of the services specified in the table. Therefore, the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act is not satisfied and the supply is not GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.

The entity is registered for GST and the supply satisfies the other positive limbs of section 9-5 of the GST Act. Furthermore, the supply is not GST-free under any other provision in Division 38 of the GST Act or input taxed under Division 40 of the GST Act. Therefore, the entity is making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act when it supplies orthoptic services to a patient.

Date of decision:  17 January 2002

Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
   section 9-5
   Division 38
   subsection 38-10(1)
   paragraph 38-10(1)(a)
   paragraph 38-10(1)(b)
   paragraph 38-10(1)(c)
   Division 40

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999
   1

Keywords
Good & services tax
GST free
GST health
Section 38-10 - other health services
Taxable supply

Business Line:  GST

Date of publication:  17 April 2002

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
  17 January 2002 Original statement
You are here 24 November 2006 Archived

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