Edited version of private ruling

Authorisation Number: 1011733660455

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Ruling

Subject: GST and tax invoices

Question

Is the document a tax invoice within the meaning of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)?

Answer

Yes, the document is a tax invoice within the meaning of the GST Act.

Relevant facts

You received a document headed 'Rental Agreement and Tax Invoice' and it contains the following information:

§ Name and ABN of the introducer

§ Name and ABN of the owner

§ Your name, ABN and address

§ The term of the lease.

§ Amounts payable under the lease which include the base rent, stamp duty and GST on the supply.

You checked the Australian Business Register (ABR) and it shows that the ABN quoted by the owner currently shows the entity name as a partnership and their trading name.

The ABR also shows that the ABN quoted by the introducer currently shows the same trading name as listed in the document provided to you.

The ABR history of the ABN quoted by the owner shows the entity name to be previously a partnership which includes the owner listed in the document.

Relevant legislative provisions

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Subsection 29-70(1).

Reasons for decision

Summary

The document titled 'Rental Agreement and Tax Invoice' is a tax invoice within the meaning of the GST Act.

Detailed reasoning

Section 29-70 of the GST Act sets out the requirements for a tax invoice.

From 1 July 2010, changes to tax invoices were introduced as part of the Board of Taxation's review of the legal framework for the administration of GST. Requirements for the content of tax invoices are less prescriptive and more flexible than they previously were. This means that documents containing minor errors may still be treated as tax invoices.

Where a recipient receives a document from a supplier that is missing key information, the recipient may still treat the document as a tax invoice under certain circumstances. It must be clear that the document is intended to be a tax invoice and they must be able to clearly ascertain the missing information from other documents issued by that supplier. This concession does not apply to adjustment notes or recipient created adjustment notes.

Subsection 29-70(1) of the GST Act, as amended, states:

A tax invoice is a document that complies with the following requirements:

(a) it is issued by the supplier of the supply or supplies to which the document relates, unless it is a *recipient created tax invoice (in which case it is issued by the *recipient);

(b)  it is in the *approved form;

(c)  it contains enough information to enable the following to be clearly ascertained:

I) the supplier's identity and the supplier's *ABN;

II) if the total *price of the supply or supplies is at least $1,000 or such higher amount as the regulations specify, or if the document was issued by the recipient - the recipient's identity or the recipient's ABN;

III) what is supplied, including the quantity (if applicable) and the price of what is supplied;

IV) the extent to which each supply to which the document relates is a *taxable supply;

V) the date the document is issued;

VI) the amount of GST (if any) payable in relation to each supply to which the document relates;

VII) if the document was issued by the recipient and GST is payable in relation to any supply - that the GST is payable by the supplier;

VIII) such other matters as the regulations specify;

(d) it can be clearly ascertained from the document that the document was intended to be a tax invoice or, if it was issued by the recipient, a recipient created tax invoice.

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2000/17 sets out the information requirements for a tax invoice.

Paragraphs 57 and 58 of GSTR 2000/17 considers the requirement that the tax invoice must contain the identity of the supplier or recipient:

Name of the supplier or recipient

57. The term 'name' is not defined in the regulations and therefore takes its ordinary meaning. The Macquarie dictionary defines it to include 'a word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, a body or class, or any object of thought, is designated or known'.

58. Therefore, the name of the supplier or recipient shown on the tax invoice may be its legal name, or the business or trading name.

GSTR 2000/17 provides that the recipient's name on a tax invoice does not have to be the entity's legal name or trading name that appears on the ABR. Further, subsection 29-70(1) of the GST does not refer to any specific requirement that an entity's name on a tax invoice has to be the legal or the trading name of the entity as it appears on the ABR.

Goods and Services Tax Advice GSTA TPP 030 advises that the name on a tax invoice is to provide a clear and accurate indication of who the entity is. It advises that the name on a tax invoice must be a clear and unambiguous word or combination of words by which the recipient is designated or known. Whether this is the entity's trading name, business name or legal name does not make any difference to the requirements of a tax invoice. It further advises that for identifying entities and distinguishing between particular entities the ATO will rely primarily on the ABN. This is one of the reasons why the ABN of the supplier must be shown on all tax invoices.

As there is no requirement in the GST Act that a name be registered to be a 'business' or 'trading' name, it is considered that a name by which the entity is commonly known and identified in a commercial sense would be sufficient to satisfy the tax invoice requirements. This would also satisfy the wider dictionary definition of 'name' expressed in paragraph 57 of GSTR 2000/17.

In your case, you have entered into an equipment rental agreement over a certain period. The rental agreement states that the document is a tax invoice for the purpose of the GST Act. The document shows the identity of the supplier, identified in the agreement as the owner,.

You checked the ABR and it shows that the ABN quoted by the owner currently shows the entity name as a partnership.

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2003/13 considers the tax invoice requirements for supplies by partnerships at paragraph 117 and it states:

117. Similarly, where partners make supplies in their capacities as partners of a partnership, tax invoices issued by the partnership should show its name and ABN. The name requirement will be met if the tax invoice shows the names of all the partners, or the business or trading name. However, the Commissioner exercises his discretion to treat a document as a tax invoice if it only shows the name of a partner, where the supply was made on behalf of the partnership, provided the document otherwise complies with subsection 29-70(1).

The ABR shows that since their registration, the name of the entity whose ABN was quoted has changed. The ABR shows the entity name was previously a partnership which includes the entity named in the document as the owner.

The document titled 'Rental Agreement and Tax Invoice' was issued in the name of one of the partners. It also contains all the other requirements of section 29-70(1) of the GST Act.

Therefore, the document is a tax invoice within the meaning of the GST Act.

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