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Ruling

Subject: GST and Recipient Created Tax Invoices (RCTI's)

Question

Are you, entitled to issue RCTI's?

Answer

Yes, where you meet the requirements of para 13 of GSTR 2000/10 or clause 5 of RCTI 2000/27 you can issue RCTI's.

Relevant facts and circumstances

You, are registered for GST and have a current and projected turnover that exceeds $20 million.

You operate in the building and construction business and make taxable supplies of construction services.

You are currently involved in a project which you will complete sometime in a specified future financial year.

You expect that sometime in that financial year your annual turnover will fall below $20 million.

Currently your contractors issue you with invoices for the work that they have done and you review their work and the invoices. This review process often results in a variation to the invoice and you pay the modified amount to the contractor.

You have asked whether you can issue RCTI's to the contractors to increase the efficiency of your operations and because you ultimately determine the value of the supply that is made by the contractor.

In addition most of the invoices are for payments that are made on a progressive basis.

Relevant legislative provisions

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Division 188 and

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

Reasons for decision

Paragraph 29-70(1)(a) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) provides that a tax invoice for a taxable supply must be issued by the supplier unless it is a recipient created tax invoice (in which case it must be issued by the recipient).

A recipient created tax invoice is defined in subsection 29-70(3) of the GST Act as:

a tax invoice belonging to a class of tax invoices that the Commissioner has determined in writing may be issued by the recipient of a taxable supply.

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2000/10 outlines the circumstances in which a recipient is entitled to issue RCTIs under three specific classes of supplies. The Commissioner has determined that the three types of supplies for which tax invoices can be issued by a recipient of a taxable supply are relevantly:

1. tax invoices for taxable supplies of agricultural products made to registered recipients

2. tax invoices for taxable supplies made to registered Government entities; and

3. tax invoices for taxable supplies made to registered recipients that have an annual turnover of at least $20 million.

Tax invoices that come within any of these three classes can be issued by recipients without notifying or applying to the Commissioner.

Based on the information provided, you will fall within the third class set out above for the immediate future. In that case paragraph 13 of GSTR 2000/10 provides that there are certain requirements to be met when issuing RCTI's under class three. Paragraph 13 is reproduced below.

13. The requirements listed in this paragraph are integral to the Commissioner's determination of the classes of invoices that recipients may issue. The requirements must be respectively satisfied by recipients and suppliers:

(a) the supplier and the recipient must be registered for GST when the invoice is issued and the RCTI must show the Australian Businesses Number ('ABN') of the supplier;

(b) the recipient must issue the original or a copy of the RCTI to the supplier within 28 days of the making, or determining the value, of the taxable supply and must retain the original or a copy;

(c) the recipient must issue the original or a copy of an adjustment note to the supplier within 28 days of the adjustment and must retain the original or a copy;

(d) the recipient must reasonably comply with its obligations under the taxation laws;

(e) the recipient must have either:

a written agreement with the supplier specifying the supplies to which it relates, that is current and effective when the RCTI is issued, agreeing that:

(i) the recipient can issue tax invoices in respect of the supplies;

(ii) the supplier will not issue tax invoices in respect of the supplies;

(iii) the supplier acknowledges that it is registered for GST when it enters into the agreement and that it will notify the recipient if it ceases to be registered; and

(iv) the recipient acknowledges that it is registered when it enters into the agreement and that it will notify the supplier if it ceases to be registered for GST, or

an agreement with the supplier embedded in an RCTI it issues that contains the following statement:

The recipient and the supplier declare that this agreement applies to supplies to which this tax invoice relates. The recipient can issue tax invoices in respect of these supplies. The supplier will not issue tax invoices in respect of these supplies. The supplier acknowledges that it is registered for GST and that it will notify the recipient if it ceases to be registered. The recipient acknowledges that it is registered for GST and that it will notify the supplier if it ceases to be registered for GST. Acceptance of this RCTI constitutes acceptance of the terms of this written agreement.

Both parties to this supply agree that they are parties to an RCTI agreement. The supplier agrees to notify the recipient if the supplier does not wish to accept the proposed agreement within 21 days of receiving this document.

(f) the recipient must not issue a document that would otherwise be an RCTI, on or after the date when the recipient or the supplier has failed to comply with any of the requirements of the determination.

If a RCTI does not meet these requirements then it is not a tax invoice for the purposes of the GST Act.

In your case your current turnover and your projected turnover is at or above the turnover threshold of $20 million, you are therefore not required to notify the Commissioner that you intend to issue RCTI's, however when issuing RCTI's you need to follow the requirements as set out above in paragraph 13 of GSTR 2000/10.

You have advised that sometime in the future your annual turnover will fall below $20 million and when this occurs you will not be eligible to use the above provisions to issue RCTI's. However, the Commissioner has also made a specific determination for the use of RCTI's in the construction industry for entities that have a turnover more than $1 million and less than $20 million. Of relevance to you is RCTI 2000/27.

In accordance with RCTI 2000/27, a recipient of a taxable supply of construction work or related goods and services may issue a tax invoice for the supply where the recipient:

(i) makes taxable supplies of construction work or related goods and services;

(ii) reviews progress claims or relies on certification (where an independent valuation process is undertaken) to determine amounts to be paid to the supplier;

(iii) has a current GST turnover or projected GST turnover of greater than one million s;

(iv)satisfies the requirements set out in Clause 5;

Clause 5 of RCTI 2000/27 contains the following requirements that must be satisfied by a recipient of a taxable supply before the recipient can issue RCTIs:

5. A recipient must satisfy the following requirements:

(a) the recipient must be registered for GST;

(b) the recipient must set out in the tax invoice the ABN of the supplier;

(c) the recipient must issue the original or a copy of the tax invoice to the supplier within 28 days of making, or determining, the value of a taxable supply and must retain the original or the copy;

(d) the recipient must issue the original or a copy of an adjustment note to the supplier within 28 days of the adjustment and must retain the original or the copy;

(e) the recipient must reasonably comply with its obligations under the taxation laws;

(f) the recipient must have either:

a written agreement with the supplier specifying the supplies to which it relates, that is current and effective when the RCTI is issued, agreeing that:

(i) the recipient can issue tax invoices in respect of the supplies;

(ii) the supplier will not issue tax invoices in respect of the supplies;

(iii) the supplier acknowledges that it is registered for GST when it enters into the agreement and that it will notify the recipient if it ceases to be registered;

(iv) the recipient acknowledges that it is registered when it enters into the agreement and that it will notify the supplier if it ceases to be registered for GST; and

(v) the recipient indemnifies the supplier for any liability for GST and penalty that may arise from an understatement of the GST payable on any of the specified supplies received on a tax invoice the recipient issues; or

an agreement with the supplier embedded in an RCTI it issues that contains the following statement:

The recipient and the supplier declare that this agreement applies to supplies to which this tax invoice relates. The recipient can issue tax invoices in respect of these supplies. The supplier will not issue tax invoices in respect of these supplies. The supplier acknowledges that it is registered for GST and that it will notify the recipient if it ceases to be registered. The recipient acknowledges that it is registered for GST and that it will notify the supplier if it ceases to be registered for GST. The recipient indemnifies the supplier for any liability for GST and penalty that may arise from an understatement of the GST payable on any of the specified supplies received on a tax invoice the recipient issues. Acceptance of this RCTI constitutes acceptance of the terms of this written agreement.

Both parties to this supply agree that they are parties to an RCTI agreement. The supplier agrees to notify the recipient if the supplier does not wish to accept the proposed agreement within 21 days of receiving this document.

(g)the recipient must not issue a document that would otherwise be a recipient created tax invoice, on or after the date when the recipient or the supplier has failed to comply with any of the requirements of this determination.

As you are a recipient of taxable supplies of construction work or related goods and service you may issue an RCTI where you satisfy the requirements as set out in clause 5 of RCTI 2000/27.