ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2001/272 (Withdrawn)

Goods and Services Tax

GST and supplies made to resident of an external Territory
FOI status: may be released
  • This ATO ID is withdrawn as it is superseded by GSTR 2007/2.
    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you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed.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

Is the entity, a training provider, making a GST-free supply under subsection 38-190(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when it provides training to an organisation in an external Territory?

Decision

Yes, the entity is making a GST-free supply under subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act when it provides training to an organisation in an external Territory.

Facts

The entity is a training provider. In this case, the entity is providing training to an organisation in an external Territory. The entity's supply is neither a supply of work physically performed on goods situated in Australia when the thing supplied is done; nor is it a supply directly connected with real property situated in Australia.

The entity is registered for goods and services tax (GST).

Reasons For Decision

Under section 38-190 of the GST Act, certain supplies of things other than goods or real property, for consumption outside of Australia, are GST-free. As a supply of training is not considered to be a supply of goods or real property, its GST status is appropriately considered under section 38-190 of the GST Act.

Of most relevance to this case is item 3 in the table in subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act (Item 3) which deals with supplies that are used or enjoyed outside of Australia. Item 3 provides that a supply is GST-free where:

it is made to a recipient who is not in Australia when the thing supplied is done; and
it is effectively used or enjoyed outside of Australia; and
it is not a supply of work physically performed on goods situated in Australia when the thing supplied is done; and
it is not a supply directly connected with real property situated in Australia.

'Australia' is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act to exclude any 'external Territory'. As such, the entity is making a supply to a recipient who is not in Australia when the thing supplied is done, because the recipient is located in an external Territory which is not considered to be part of Australia for the purposes of the GST Act.

In addition, as the training is provided in the external Territory, the supply is also used outside of Australia. Furthermore, the supply is not of work physically performed on goods situated in Australia when the thing supplied is done; nor is it directly connected with real property situated in Australia.

Therefore, as the supply satisfies all of the requirements in item 3, it is GST-free.

[NOTE: The residency of the recipient of the supply is not relevant in determining the status of a supply under Item 3.]

Date of decision:  16 October 2000

Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
   subsection 38-190(1)
   subsection 38-190(1) table item 3
   section 195-1

Keywords
Goods & services tax
Exports
Consumption outside Australia
GST free

Business Line:  GST

Date of publication:  8 September 2001

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
  16 October 2000 Original statement
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