| Disclaimer This edited version has been archived due to the length of time since original publication. It should not be regarded as indicative of the ATO's current views. The law may have changed since original publication, and views in the edited version may also be affected by subsequent precedents and new approaches to the application of the law. You cannot rely on this record in your tax affairs. It is not binding and provides you with no protection (including from any underpaid tax, penalty or interest). In addition, this record is not an authority for the purposes of establishing a reasonably arguable position for you to apply to your own circumstances. For more information on the status of edited versions of private advice and reasons we publish them, see PS LA 2008/4. |
Edited version of private ruling
Authorisation Number: 1011694994689
This edited version of your ruling will be published in the public Register of private binding rulings after 28 days from the issue date of the ruling. The attached private rulings fact sheet has more information.
Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. Contact us at the address given in the fact sheet if you have any concerns.
Ruling
Subject: goods and services tax and sale of lifts
Question
Is GST payable on your sales of lifts that meet AS 1735-18?
Answer
Yes.
Relevant facts and circumstances
You are registered for GST.
You sell lifts that meet AS 1735-18.
These lifts are electric.
These lifts are not specifically designed for people with disabilities, and they are widely used by people without an illness or disability.
You install these lifts at premises within Australia.
Reasons for decision
Summary
Your sales of lifts that meet AS 1735-18 are not GST-free supplies of medical aids or appliances under subsection 38-45(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act).
GST is payable on your sales of lifts that meet AS 1735-18, as all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act are satisfied.
Detailed reasoning
GST is payable by you where you make a taxable supply.
You make a taxable supply where you satisfy the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act, which states:
You make a taxable supply if:
(a) you make the supply for *consideration; and
(b) the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an *enterprise that
you *carry on; and
(c) the supply is *connected with Australia; and
(d) you are *registered, or *required to be registered.
However, the supply is not a *taxable supply to the extent that it is *GST-free
or *input taxed.
(*Denotes a term defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act)
In your case, you satisfy the requirements of paragraphs 9-5(a) to 9-5(d) of the GST Act. That is, you supply lifts that meet AS 1735-18 for consideration and you make these supplies in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on. Additionally, these supplies are connected with Australia and you are registered for GST.
There are no provisions in the GST Act under which your sales of lifts that meet AS 1735-18 are input taxed supplies.
Therefore, what remains to be determined is whether your sales of lifts that meet AS 1735-18 are GST-free supplies.
Subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act provides that a supply is GST-free if:
(a) it is covered by Schedule 3 (medical aids and appliances), or specified in
the regulations; and
(b) the thing supplied is specifically designed for people with an illness or
disability, and is not widely used by people without an illness or disability.
Item 88 in Schedule 3 to the GST Act (item 88) lists manual, electric, ceiling track or pool hoists specifically designed for people with disabilities.
The ordinary meaning of 'hoist' as defined in The Macquarie Dictionary, 1997, 3rd edn, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd New South Wales is:
4. an apparatus for hoisting, as a lift.
5. a lift for heavy goods: goods lift.
The usual devices that are covered by item 88 are used to lift an individual and transfer them, for example, from a bed to a wheelchair or from a wheelchair into a pool. The ordinary meaning of 'hoist' also covers lifts.
Your lifts that meet AS 1735-18 are electric hoists. However, they are not specifically designed for people with disabilities. Therefore, they are not covered by item 88.
There are no other items in Schedule 3 to the GST Act that are relevant. Additionally, your lifts that meet AS 1735-18 are not specified in the regulations.
As your lifts that meet AS 1735-18 do not satisfy the requirement of paragraph 38-45(1)(a) of the GST Act, your sales of these lifts are not GST-free supplies under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act. This will be the case even where such a lift is used by a person with a disability and the purchaser provides to you a doctor's statement that the lift is required for use by a person with an illness or disability.
There are no other provisions in the GST Act under which your sales of lifts that meet AS 1735-18 are GST-free.
Therefore, as all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act are satisfied, you make taxable supplies of lifts that meet AS 1735-18. Hence, GST is payable on your sales of these lifts.