Parliament sits between July 31, 2023, and August 10, 2023.
Simplifying Fuel & Alcool Excise Compliance
Amongst other things, the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2023 introduces the 2022-23 Budget measures to simplify fuel and alcohol excise compliance. The Bill was approved by Parliament and granted Royal Assent on 28 June 2023. Starting from 1 July 2023, fuel and alcohol businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million can now file and pay excise and excise equivalent customs duty quarterly instead of weekly or monthly. They are required to submit returns and make payments by the 28th day of the month following the end of each quarter.
Additionally, the Excise Act does not consider the small-scale repackaging of beer into smaller containers as beer manufacture. The repackaging needs to be done into exempt beer containers, commonly called “growlers,” which are sealed individual containers with the ability to store no more than 2 litres and are not pressurised. The retail sale of the repackaged beer must take place immediately after the repackaging process.
Furthermore, only the initial 10,000 litres of beer that undergo repackaging into exempt beer containers at specific premises during a financial year will not be considered beer manufacturing. If the repackaging process is not considered beer manufacturing, then a manufacturer license will not be required, unless the entity is also engaged in excise manufacturing or exceeds the 10,000-liter limit within the financial year. Additionally, no excise duty is payable on the repackaged beer, up to the specified yearly limit. These amendments are applicable from 1 July 2023 for beer repackaged on or after the commencement date.
GST Errors Correction
According to the draft legislative instrument, taxpayers can correct GST errors from earlier tax periods by adding these as an adjustment to the net GST position in a later tax period, rather than making changes to the earlier activity statement. The taxpayer can correct the error if:
- The error is related to the GST amount, an input tax credit, or an adjustment.
- The earlier tax period began on or after July 1, 2012.
- Lodgment of later activity statements within the review period to assess the net GST amount of the earlier tax period.
- The error was not made in calculating the net GST amount for an earlier tax period that is subject to compliance activity when the activity statement for that later tax period was submitted, and the Commissioner had not notified the taxpayer in writing that the error could be corrected under the instrument.
- The taxpayer has not corrected that error, to any extent, in calculating the net GST amount.
If the error is a debit error, the following conditions need to be met:
- The mistake wasn’t brought on by carelessness with regard to how a GST law worked or intentional disregard of a GST rule.
- When a GST return is filed during the debit error time period, the error is corrected.
- The debit error value limit is not reached by the debit errors’ net sum.
Digital Games Tax Offset
A legislative instrument has been published, associated with the execution of the digital games tax offset. Primarily, the instrument is related to the process of getting a certificate to claim the offset from the Arts Minister and establishing the Digital Games Tax Offset Advisory Board.