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Edited version of your private ruling

Authorisation Number: 1012471575012

Ruling

Subject: GST and compulsory acquisition of leases of land

Question

Are the proposed payments set out under the draft Deed consideration for a supply made within the meaning of section 9-5(a) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) by the owners?

Advice/Answers

No.

Relevant facts and circumstances

On or around a specified date, you will receive funds from a government entity (Entity A). These payments are in connection with statutorily imposed leases of land held by the owners.

The relevant owners hold a number of parcels of land. The requirement to lease these parcels of land was imposed under the ABC Act. The leases were terminated on a certain date.

Leases

Under the ABC Act, Entity A compulsorily acquired leases of land from the owners.

There were no consultations with owners of the land regarding the acquisitions, and consent was not required.

The creation of the statutory leases under the ABC Act effected an acquisition of property.

Under the ABC Act, Entity A is liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation in respect of the acquisition of the leases.

Deed

You and Entity A have entered into a Deed whereby Entity A has agreed to provide various amounts of compensation to you for the various leases.

The Deed includes Schedules. You have provided a copy of Schedule 1 to the Deed. A description of the parcels of land to which the deed relates is contained within Schedule 1 to the Deed.

The draft Deed states that the Parties acknowledge and agree that the Settlement Sum is not a payment in consideration of a supply attracting GST. The terms in the draft Deed are agreed, other than provisions relating to GST.

Relevant legislative provisions

A New Tax System (Goods and services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-5

A New Tax System (Goods and services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-10

Reasons for decision

In this ruling,

Under section 9-5, you make a taxable supply if:

However, the supply is not a *taxable supply to the extent that it is *GST-free or *input taxed.

The terms marked with an asterisk are defined in section 195-1.

The first requirement, therefore, is that you make a supply for consideration. Supply is defined in section 9-10.

9-10 Meaning of supply

...

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2006/9: supplies (GSTR 2006/9) includes a discussion on the characteristics of 'supply' in the context a two party transaction.

In this case, we consider the paragraphs relating to proposition 5, which analyses that to 'make a supply' an entity must do something, is relevant. Paragraph 71 of GSTR 2006/9 states:

Accordingly, we consider the use of the word 'make' in the phrase 'you make the supply' in paragraph 9-5(a) requires the supplier to take some actions to cause a supply to be made by it to a recipient.

Paragraph 72 of GSTR 2006/9 further provides:

At paragraph 78 of GSTR 2006/9, the Commissioner distinguishes something brought about solely by operation of law where there is no supply, from something done by an entity as a consequence of a legal requirement where there may be a supply.

GSTR 2006/9 further explains that in relation to compulsory acquisitions:

By the operation of the ABC Act, Entity A compulsorily acquired certain leases of the land. According to the facts, there were no consultations with the owners of the land regarding the acquisitions, and consent was not required.

On the basis of these facts, we consider the leases acquired by Entity A were brought about solely by the operation of law and that the owners did not take any positive action to cause the supply of those leases to take place.

Further, the acceptance by the owners of the compensation and rent payable set out in the Deed and in consequence of the operation of the ABC Act do not provide a sufficient nexus between the land which passes and the means by which it passes, nor does it alter the finding that the leases of land are still acquired by the operation of the statute and not by any action taken by the owners.

Accordingly, the payments proposed in the Deed in respect of the leases will not be consideration for a supply within the meaning of paragraph 9-5(a), with the result that no taxable supply of the leases is made by the owners.


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