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Edited version of your written advice

Authorisation Number: 1012724377304

Ruling

Subject: Goods and services tax (GST) and sale of property

Question 1

Will GST be payable on your sale of property X?

Answer

GST will not be payable on your sale of property X unless you choose to register for GST by the time of settlement of sale.

Question 2

Will GST be payable on your sale of property Y?

Answer

GST will not be payable on your sale of property Y unless you choose to register for GST by the time of settlement of sale.

Question 3

Are you required to be required to be registered for GST?

Answer

No.

Question 4

Are you entitled to be registered for GST?

Answer

Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances

You (individual A, in their capacity as executor for the deceased estate of individual B) are not registered for GST.

You hold a property located in Australia (property X) and another property located in Australia (property Y).

Property X consists of two titles and has a total area of a certain number of square metres. There are commercial premises on these two lots.

Property Y is directly behind property X. Property Y consists of 1 title and has an area of a certain number of square metres. There are 2 uninhabitable cottages on this property. These cottages have not been used as residential cottages for decades.

The Valuer General notes all the land to be industrial.

Individual B purchased property X and property Y decades ago. Individual B purchased property Y a few years after property X.

Individual B operated a business from property X from a certain decade to a certain decade.

Individual B purchased property Y with the intention of one day extending the factory that is on property X, although they only used property Y for parking their customers' cars and they never got around to extending the factory.

After individual B ceased operating their business there was a big gap in time during which no one used the properties. Then individual B allowed company C to use property X in its business rent free. You have been allowing company C to occupy this property rent free.

Company C continues to operate a business from property X. Company C used property Y for parking for its business in the initial years, when it was doing more of a certain activity. It now outsources this activity so it hasn't been using it for parking for a few years.

Company C is registered for GST. Individual A is a director of company C.

Individual B also owned a residence at another location in Australia. This residence was individual B's home. This property was sold a long time ago.

You will sell property X and property Y under a single contract to company D and company E.

You would not earn $75,000 or more in the 12 month period beginning with the month of settlement of sale of property X and property Y if the sale of these properties was excluded).

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 paragraph 9-20(1)(a)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 paragraph 9-20(1)(c)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 paragraph 9-20(2)(c)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-40

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 23-5

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 23-10

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-325

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 40-65

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 72-5

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 75-20(1)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 184-1(3)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 188-10(1)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 188-15(1)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 188-20(1)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 paragraph 188-25(a)

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 195-1

Reasons for decisions

Question 1 and question 2

Summary

GST is not payable on the sale of property X and property Y because you are not registered for GST and will not be required to be registered for GST.

However, GST will be payable on the sale of these two properties if you choose to register for GST.

Detailed reasoning

GST is payable on taxable supplies.

You make a taxable supply if you meet the requirements of section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), which states:

You make a taxable supply if:

In accordance with subsection 184-1(3) of the GST Act, a person can have a number of different capacities in which the person does things. In each of those capacities, the person is taken to be a different entity for GST purposes. For example, where an individual is the trustee of a trust, the individual in his or her personal capacity is one entity. As trustee of a particular trust, he or she is a different entity.

The executor of a deceased estate is a trustee of the deceased estate trust.

The sale of property X and property Y will meet the requirements of paragraphs 9-5(a) and 9-5(c) of the GST Act. This is because the sale of these properties will be supplies made for consideration and the properties are located in Australia.

You are not registered for GST.

There are no provisions in the GST Act under which the sale of property X and property Y will be GST-free or input taxed. In accordance with paragraph 20 of Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2012/5, the sale of property Y will not be input taxed under the sale of residential premises exemption (section 40-65 of the GST Act) because the dwelling style premises on these properties are no longer inhabitable, and they are therefore not residential premises for the purposes of the GST Act.

Therefore, what remains to be determined is whether the sale of the properties will be made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on and whether you are required to be registered for GST.

Sale made in course or furtherance of enterprise

In accordance with paragraph 9-20(1)(a) of the GST Act, enterprise includes an activities or series of activities done in the form of a business.

In accordance with section 195-1 of the GST Act, carrying on an enterprise includes anything done in the course of the termination of an enterprise, for example, selling assets as part of the winding up of the enterprise.

In accordance with paragraph 146 of MT 2006/1, where the only activities performed by an entity are those that it does in terminating the enterprise, for example, the sale of its business premises, those activities are nevertheless done in carrying on an enterprise.

Individual B used property X as their business premises. Property Y was also used in this business - it was used as car parking for the business.

Taxation Ruling IT 2622 explains that upon the death of a person, the property of the deceased passes to their estate, the legal control over which is exercised by an executor or an administrator. The executor or administrator, in effect, steps into the shoes of the deceased and winds up the deceased's personal affairs.

Therefore, it is considered that the winding up of an enterprise that the deceased carried on, performed by an executor or administrator upon the death of the deceased, will still be part of the carrying on of the deceased's enterprise.

You are the trustee of a deceased estate. The sale of the properties in question will be something done in the course of winding up individual B's enterprise. Hence, the sale of these properties will be supplies made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise you carry on. Therefore, you meet the requirement of paragraph 9-5(b) of the GST Act.

GST registration

Section 23-5 of the GST Act provides that an entity is required to be registered for GST if:

You are carrying on an enterprise. Therefore, the requirement of paragraph 23-5(a) of the GST Act is met.

Subsection 188-10(1) of the GST Act states:

You have a GST turnover that meets a particular *turnover threshold if:

In accordance with subsection 188-15(1) of the GST Act, an entity's current GST turnover at a time during a particular month is the sum of the values of all the supplies that the entity has made, or is likely to make, during the 12 months ending at the end of that month, other than:

In accordance with subsection 188-20(1) of the GST Act, an entity's projected GST turnover at a time during a particular month is the sum of the values of all the supplies that the entity has made, or is likely to make, during that month and the next 11 months, other than:

In accordance with paragraph 188-25(a) of the GST Act, a sale of a capital asset is excluded from projected GST turnover.

Paragraphs 31 to 36 of Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2001/7 discuss the meaning of capital asset. They state:

Individual B held property X and property Y as capital assets as they retained them to produce income from their business. The character of these assets has not changed to that of trading assets since the time they ceased operating this business.

Therefore, the sale of property X and property Y is excluded from projected GST turnover.

You would not earn $75,000 or more in the 12 month period beginning with the month of settlement of sale of property X and property Y if the sale of these properties was excluded. Therefore, you will not have a GST turnover of $75,000 or more at the time of sale of these properties.

(The associate provision - section 72-5 of the GST Act does not apply to the supply that you make to company C (the licence to occupy property X) because company C is registered for GST and it acquires the right to occupy the property solely for a creditable purpose. Therefore, the GST turnover calculations relating to you should not include a notional rent amount.)

As you will not have a GST turnover of $75,000 or more at the time of sale of property X and property Y, the requirement of paragraph 23-5(b) of the GST Act will not be met.

As you do not meet all of the requirements of section 23-5 of the GST Act, you will not be required to be registered for GST at the time of sale of property X and property Y.

Section 23-10 of the GST Act provides that an entity is entitled to be registered for GST if it is carrying on an enterprise (regardless of the level of GST turnover). You are entitled to be registered for GST because you are carrying on an enterprise by selling the properties from which individual B formerly operated a business.

As you are not registered and not required to be required to be registered for GST, the requirement of paragraph 9-5(d) of the GST Act is not met.

As not all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act are met, the sale of property X and property Y will not be taxable supplies. Hence, GST is not payable on the sale of these properties.

However, if you choose to register for GST, the requirement of paragraph 9-5(d) of the GST Act will be met. Under such circumstances, all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act would be met. Therefore, the sale of property X and property Y would be taxable supplies under such circumstances. Hence, GST would be payable on the sale of the two properties under such circumstances.

In summary, whether or not the sale of the properties is subject to GST depends on whether you choose to register for GST.

Question 3

See reasons for decisions for questions 1 and 2.

Question 4

See reasons for decisions for questions 1 and 2.


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