ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2003/1169 (Withdrawn)

Goods and Services Tax

GST and registration of a government body
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you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed.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

Can the government body register for goods and services tax (GST), under section 23-10 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), despite the fact that it does not satisfy the definition of 'entity' in section 184-1 of the GST Act?

Decision

Yes, the government body can register for GST under section 23-10 of the GST Act despite the fact that it does not satisfy the definition of 'entity' in section 184-1 of the GST Act. This is because it is a 'government entity' as defined in section 41 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 (ABN Act).

Facts

The government body does not satisfy the definition of 'entity' contained in section 184-1 of the GST Act.

The government body is not an entity. It was established for a public purpose by an Australian law and can be separately identified by reference to the nature of the activities carried on through the organisation.

The government body is part of a government department, which is itself a 'government entity' that is registered for GST.

Reasons for Decision

Under section 23-10 of the GST Act, an 'entity' may be registered for GST if:

•: it is carrying on an enterprise; or
•: it intends to carry on an enterprise from a particular date.

The word 'entity' is defined in section 184-1 of the GST Act. The government body does not satisfy this definition and therefore, is not an 'entity' for the purposes of the GST Act.

However, Division 149 of the GST Act allows parts of the Commonwealth, State or Territory to register for GST even if they do not meet the definition of 'entity' in section 184-1 of the GST Act.

Subsection 149-5(1) of the GST Act allows a 'government entity' to apply to be registered for GST under section 23-10 of the GST Act even if:

•: it is not an entity; and
•: it is not carrying on an enterprise or is not intending to carry on an enterprise.

The term 'government entity' is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act as having the meaning given by section 41 of the ABN Act. Paragraph (e) of that section provides that a government entity is an organisation that:

•: is not an entity; and
•: is either established by the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory (whether under a law or not) to carry on an enterprise or established for a public purpose by an Australian law; and
•: can be separately identified by reference to the nature of the activities carried on through the organisation or the location of the organisation;

The government body does not satisfy the definition of 'entity' in section 184-1 of the GST Act. Further, it was established for a public purpose by an Australian law and can be separately identified by reference to the nature of the activities carried on through the organisation.

Although the government body does not satisfy the definition of 'entity' in section 184-1 of the GST Act, it does satisfy the definition of 'government entity' in section 41 of the ABN Act.

Therefore, as the government body is a 'government entity', it may apply, under section 23-10 of the GST Act, to be registered for GST, despite the fact that it does not satisfy the definition of 'entity' in section 184-1 of the GST Act.

Note 1: Section 149-10 of the GST Act provides that a government entity is not required to be registered even if it is carrying on an enterprise and its annual turnover meets the annual turnover threshold.

Accordingly, the government body may choose whether to register for GST or not. If the government body chooses to register for GST, then the government body will be liable for GST on the taxable supplies that it makes.

Note 2: If the government body chooses not to register for GST, the government department that it belongs to will be liable for GST on the taxable supplies made by the government body.

Date of decision: 20 August 2001

Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
   section 23-10
   Division 149
   subsection 149-5(1)
   section 149-10
   section 184-1
   section 195-1

A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999
section 41

Keywords
Goods and services tax
GST registration
Government entities

Business Line: GST

Date of publication: 24 December 2003

ISSN: 1445-2782

history

	Date:	Version:
	20 August 2001	Original statement
You are here	25 November 2005	Archived

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