ATO ID 2006/112: GST and annual conference held by a religious institution
Date of decision: 10 March 2006
Business line: Indirect Tax

Issue
Is the entity, a religious institution, making a GST-free supply of a religious service under section 38-220 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when it holds an annual conference?

Decision
Yes. The entity is making a GST-free supply of a religious service under section 38-220 of the GST Act, when it holds an annual conference.

Facts
The entity is a religious institution and is registered for goods and services tax (GST). Religious teaching shapes the content and nature of the activities provided by the entity and includes presentations, talks and lectures by speakers credentialed in the entity's religion, worship, prayer and music. The activities are held weekly and referred to as 'weekly service'. The moral and ethical beliefs of the entity's religion are integral to the religious teaching. The weekly service is of two hours duration and is open to both the public and followers of the entity's religion who are formally members or participants in the religion. People socialise before and after they attend the weekly service. Occasionally people participate in a recreational game of sport after the weekly service. At the weekly service held on the entity's premises, CDs and DVDs with relevant religious content are regularly offered for sale. Light refreshments are also offered after the weekly service and these are sometimes for sale and sometimes free. Accommodation is not offered to or arranged for followers and the public who attend the weekly service, other than in special circumstances. The entity holds an annual conference for which the participants pay a registration fee to attend the conference. The annual conference comprises a daily program of service provided by the entity, including religious teaching in presentations by speakers credentialed in the entity's religion, worship, prayer and music. The annual conference and activity in the daily program is open to the public and followers of entity's religion. Most of the time at the annual conference is devoted to presentations and prayer. The daily programs are divided into afternoon and night sessions of two to three hours duration. Accommodation is not provided as part of the conference program and is not included in the registration fee. Attendees can choose to make accommodation arrangements through the entity. Social and recreational activities do not form part of the conference program. The entity sells food and drink at the annual conference, servicing meals and operating a canteen. Food and drink are not included in the registration fee. DVDs and CDs of the current and previous annual conferences, speakers and other similar recordings are sold at the annual conference. They are not included in the registration fee.

Reasons for decision
Summary: Under section 38-220 of the GST Act, a supply is GST-free if it is a supply of service that: As the entity is a religious institution, paragraph 38-220(a) of the GST Act is satisfied. For the purposes of paragraph 38-220(b) of the GST Act, the annual conference must be integral to the practice of the entity's religion. This is a question of fact determined by comparing the content and nature of the activities in question with the content and nature of the usual and regularly provided activities in the practice of the entity's religion. The conference activities predominantly focus on the moral and ethical beliefs of the religious institution. These activities involve prayer and presentations, talks and lectures. In contrast to the weekly services, there are no social or recreational activities arranged as part of the conference. DVDs and CDs of the current and previous annual conferences, speakers and other similar recordings are sold at the conference. All of these activities are consistent with the entity's activities in the weekly service. As the sale of food and drink and arranging of accommodation are not included in the registration fee they do not, in these circumstances, exclude the other activities at the conference from being 'integral to the practice of that religion'. Overall, the conference activities are sufficiently similar in content and nature to the usual activities regularly provided in the practice of the entity's religion. Accordingly, the supply of the conference by the entity is a GST-free supply of service under section 38-220 of the GST Act.

Legislative references: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-220 paragraph 38-220(a) paragraph 38-220(b)
Subject references: Goods and services tax GST non profit GST religious services