ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2007/149 (Withdrawn)

Excise

Product Grants and Benefits Administration Act: error in previous claim - whether entities have a choice between making a new claim and requesting an amended assessment
FOI status: may be released
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you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed.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 Products Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000 (PGBAA) permit an entity to choose between requesting an amended assessment under section 21 of the PGBAA and lodging a new claim under section 15 of the PGBAA where the entity has previously omitted a particular fuel purchase from a grant claim?

Decision

Yes. The PGBAA permits an entity to choose whether to request an amendment or lodge a new claim where the entity has previously omitted a particular fuel purchase from a grant claim.

Facts

An entity purchased on-road diesel fuel for an activity that qualifies for an entitlement to an on-road credit (energy grant) under the Energy Grants (Credit) Scheme Act 2003 (EGCSA).

The entity made a claim for the energy grant on a claim form pursuant to section 15 of the PGBAA and the grant was paid. An assessment was made in respect of the amount to which the entity was entitled for the claim period.

Subsequently, the entity realised that they had also acquired off-road diesel fuel during the same claim period which they used for an eligible off-road purpose.

Reasons for Decision

Section 8 of the PGBAA provides that grants paid under the EGCSA are covered by the PGBAA.

Subsection 15(1) of the PGBAA specifies various rules in respect of claims for grants and benefits including that a grant is not payable unless a claim for payment is made.

Paragraph 15(2)(a) of the PGBAA states that the claim:

may relate to all the goods in respect of which you are entitled to a grant or benefit for the claim period in question;

Therefore, under paragraph 15(2)(a) of the PGBAA there is no requirement that a claim lodged in respect of a particular period must include all eligible fuel entitlements for that period.

However, paragraph 15(2)(e) of the PGBAA requires that the claim must be given to the Commissioner within three years after the start of the claim period.

It follows that an entity may choose to make a further claim for fuel purchased in a particular claim period, even if a claim has already been lodged in respect of other fuel for the same claim period.

Section 21 of the PGBAA deals with amended assessments, and provides that an entity can request an amended assessment and that the Commissioner must consider the request if it is made within two years after the end of the claim period or such other period as the Commissioner allows.

Subsection 17(2) of the PGBAA provides that the Commissioner must make an assessment of the amount of the grant or benefit to which an entity is entitled in respect of a claim period.

Therefore, assessments issued under the PGBAA are properly regarded as being assessments of the amount of grant or benefit to which an entity is entitled for a claim period.

This leads to the conclusion that section 21 of the PGBAA enables a taxpayer to request an amended assessment where they previously omitted a grant or benefit entitlement from their original claim form.

Accordingly, where a taxpayer has omitted a grant or benefit entitlement from their original claim form, they can either:

•
lodge a new claim under section 15 of the PGBAA within three years of the start of the claim period of the new claim, or
•
request an amended assessment under section 21 of the PGBAA within two years after the end of the claim period of the original claim or such further period as the Commissioner allows.

Note: Paragraph 15(2)(db) of the PGBAA provides that claims for payment of energy grants in respect of on-road credits or off-road credits must be given to the Commissioner before the earlier of 1 July 2007 and the end of three years after the commencement of the claim period.

Date of decision:  10 July 2007

Legislative References:
Products Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000
   section 8
   section 15
   subsection 15(1)
   paragraph 15(2)(a)
   paragraph 15(2)(db)
   paragraph 15(2)(e)
   section 21
   section 21(1)
   section 21(2)

Related ATO Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2007/150
ATO ID 2007/151

Keywords
Excise payments claim
Energy grants (credit) scheme

Siebel/TDMS Reference Number:  5527656

Business Line:  Indirect Tax

Date of publication:  13 July 2007

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
  10 July 2007 Original statement
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