ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2003/1123 (Withdrawn)

Goods and Services Tax

GST and importation of medical aids and appliances
FOI status: may be released

This ATO ID is a straight application 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you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed.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 importer of medical aids and appliances, making a taxable importation under section 13-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when it imports medical aids and appliances, the supply of which would be GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act if the medical aid or appliance was supplied in Australia?

Decision

No, the entity is not making a taxable importation under section 13-5 of the GST Act when it imports medical aid and appliances, the supply of which would be GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act if the medical aid or appliance was supplied in Australia. The entity is making a non-taxable importation as defined in section 13-10 of the GST Act.

Facts

The entity is an importer of medical aids and appliances. The entity imports medical aids and appliances for home consumption within the meaning of the Customs Act 1901. The supply of these medical aids and appliances would be GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act if the medical aid or appliance was supplied in Australia.

Reasons for Decision

Section 13-5 of the GST Act provides that an entity makes a taxable importation if:

•: goods are imported goods; and
•: the entity enters the goods for home consumption within the meaning of the Customs Act.

However, an importation is not a taxable importation to the extent that it is a non-taxable importation.

The entity is importing the medical aids and appliances for home consumption within the meaning of the Customs Act and therefore, the positive requirements of section 13-5 of the GST Act are met.

Under section 13-10 of the GST Act, an importation is a non-taxable importation if:

•: it is a non-taxable importation under Part 3-2 of the GST Act; or
•: it would have been a supply that was GST-free or input taxed if it had been a supply.

A supply of the medical aids and appliances that the entity is importing would be GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act. Therefore, if there had been a supply to the entity of those medical aids or appliances (instead of an importation by the entity), the supply would have been GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act.

As such, the entity is making a non-taxable importation under section 13-10 of the GST Act when it imports the medical aids and appliances, the supply of which would be GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act if they were supplied in Australia.

Date of decision: 31 October 2003

Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
   section 13-5
   section 13-10
   subsection 38-45(1)
   Part 3-2

ATO Interpretative Decisions overturned by this decision
ATO ID 2002/866

Keywords
Goods and services tax
Non-taxable importations
GST free
GST health
Section 38-45 - medical aids & appliances

Business Line: GST

Date of publication: 12 December 2003

ISSN: 1445-2782

history

	Date:	Version:
	31 October 2003	Original statement
You are here	7 October 2005	Archived

Copyright notice

You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute material on this website as you wish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth endorses you or any of your services or products).