Private ruling: Early stage innovation company qualification
Date of advice: 21 June 2018
Published: September 2018
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 20ZZ
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20YY

Ruling: Q1: Does the Company meet the criteria of an Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) under subsection 360-40(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: 1. The Company was incorporated in Australia in the current income year. Its equity interests are not listed for quotation in the official list of any stock exchange. 2. The Company has no subsidiaries and had expenses of less than $1 million in the previous income year. 3. The Company did not derive any assessable income in the previous income year. 4. The Company’s goal is to develop the Product which aims to allow a range of consumers to access a particular type of data in real time via a solution which is designed to provide superior data and is cheaper for users than devices currently on the market. 5. The solution includes development of: ● A device enabling real-time measurement and transmission of the data; ● The database and systems to capture, store and process the live data; and ● Mobile applications to present the data back to users for real-time behavioural responses. 6. IP Australia has granted the Company an Innovation Patent, for its invention. A standard national patent is pending. 7. The Company has submitted funding applications for various commercialisation programmes. 8. Key features differentiating the Product from the existing products of its competitors include: ● Lower cost of the product. ● Innovative use of cutting-edge low-cost Internet-of-Things technologies. ● Simplicity. ● Ease of installation. ● Superior data quality. 9. The Company has identified key risks of its project and planned related mitigation strategies. 10. The Company has identified its addressable market as: ● The local market initially, which includes users in some Australian states. ● A broader market, which includes other Australian states, as the return-on-investment is proven. ● A global market as the device has intrinsically high export potential. This means that the broader market could extend to countries outside Australia. Commercialisation strategy 11. The Company has been conducting small scale trials of the Product hardware. 12. The next steps involve the process of scaling up this testing. 13. The Company has identified its ultimate market as being the global market, with its initial target being the Australian market. Information provided 14. You have provided information in your private ruling application including: ● Overview of the Company’s vision and mission, solution and business model ● Complete Specification application for Innovation Patent

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subdivision 360-A | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 360-40 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 360-45

Reasons for decision: Summary: All legislative references are to the ITAA 1997 unless otherwise indicated. | Detailed Reasoning - Qualifying Early Stage Innovation Company: 1. Subsection 360-40(1) outlines the criteria required for a company to qualify as an Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) at a particular time in an income year. This time is referred to as the test time. The criteria are based on a series of tests to identify if the company is at an early stage of its development and it is developing new or significantly improved innovations to generate an economic return. | Detailed Reasoning - ‘The early stage test’: 2. The early stage test requirements are outlined in detail within paragraphs 360-40(1)(a) to (d). | Detailed Reasoning - Incorporation or Registration – paragraph 360-40(1)(a): 3. To meet the requirement in paragraph 360-40(1)(a), at a particular time (the test time) in an income year (the current year) the company must have been either: i. incorporated in Australia within the last three income years (the latest being the current year); or ii. incorporated in Australia within the last six income years (the latest being the current year), and across the last three of those income years the company and its 100% subsidiaries incurred total expenses of $1 million or less; or iii. registered in the Australian Business Register (ABR) within the last three income years (the latest being the current year). 4. The term ‘current year’ is defined in subsection 360-40(1) with reference to the ‘test time’; the ‘current year’ being the income year in which the company issues shares to the investor. 5. A company that does not meet any of these conditions will not qualify as an ESIC. | Detailed Reasoning - Total expenses - paragraph 360-40(1)(b): 6. To meet the requirement in paragraph 360-40(1)(b), the company and its 100% subsidiaries must have incurred total expenses of $1 million or less in the income year before the current year. | Detailed Reasoning - Assessable income - paragraph 360-40(1)(c): 7. To meet the requirement in paragraph 360-40(1)(c), the company and its 100% subsidiaries must have derived total assessable income of $200,000 or less in the income year before the current year. | Detailed Reasoning - No stock exchange listing - paragraph 360-40(1)(d): 8. To meet the requirement in paragraph 360-40(1)(d), the company must not be listed on any stock exchange in Australia or a foreign country. | Detailed Reasoning - Innovation tests: 9. If the company satisfies the early stage test, the company must also satisfy one of two innovation tests: the objective (100 point) test or the principles-based test. | Detailed Reasoning - ‘Principles-based test’ – subparagraphs 360-40(1)(e)(i) to (v): 10. To satisfy the principles-based test, the company must meet five requirements in paragraph 360-40(1)(e). This is tested at a time immediately after the relevant new shares are issued to the investor. 11. The company can demonstrate that it meets each requirement through existing documentation such as a business plan, commercialisation strategy, competition analysis or other company documents. The company must be able to show that tangible steps have been or will be taken in relation to each of the requirements. 12. The five requirements of the principles-based test, as outlined in paragraph 360-40(1)(e) are: i. the company must be genuinely focused on developing one or more new or significantly improved innovations for commercialisation ii. the business relating to that innovation must have a high growth potential iii. the company must demonstrate that it has the potential to be able to successfully scale up the business relating to the innovation iv. the company must demonstrate that it has the potential to be able to address a broader than local market, including global markets, through that business, and v. the company must demonstrate that it has the potential to be able to have competitive advantages for that business. | Detailed Reasoning - Developing new or significantly improved innovations for commercialisation: 13. For the purposes of Subdivision 360-A, the Explanatory Memorandum to the Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives for Innovation) Bill 2016 (‘EM’) provides the following at paragraph 1.76 in relation to the definition of innovation: “Implicit in the definition of innovation is the requirement that the company is developing a new or significantly improved type of innovation such as a product, process, service, marketing or organisational method. This list of various types of innovations provides flexibility for innovation companies and is adaptable to current and future innovations. The Oslo Manual, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides a description of these different types of innovations…” 14. The innovation being developed by the company must either be new or significantly improved for an applicable addressable market. The company’s addressable market is the revenue opportunity or market demand arising from the innovation or the related business. The addressable market must be objective and realistic. 15. Improvements must be significant in nature to meet this requirement. Customising existing products or minor changes resulting from software updates, pricing strategies or seasonal changes are examples of improvements that would not be considered significant. 16. The OECD Oslo Manual defines innovations as significant changes, with the intention of distinguishing significant changes from routine minor changes. However, it is important to recognise that an innovation can also consist of a series of smaller incremental changes that together constitute a significant change. 17. In discussing services innovation activity, paragraph 111 of the OECD Oslo Manual states, “Innovation activity in services also tends to be a continuous process, consisting of a series of incremental changes in products and processes. This may occasionally complicate the identification of innovations in services in terms of single events, i.e. as the implementation of a significant change in products, processes or other methods.” 18. The OECD Oslo Manual, in relation to defining innovative services, states at paragraph 161 that “innovations in services can include significant improvements in how they are provided (for example, in terms of their efficiency or speed), the addition of new functions or characteristics to existing services, or the introduction of entirely new services.” 19. The company must be genuinely focused on developing the innovation for a commercial purpose in order to generate economic value and revenue for the company. This requirement draws the distinction between simply having an idea and commercialising an idea. 20. ‘Commercialisation’ includes a range of activities that involve the implementation or sale of a new or significantly improved innovation that will directly lead to the generation of economic value for the company. | Detailed Reasoning - High growth potential: 21. The company must be able to demonstrate that it has the potential for high growth within a broad addressable market. This refers to the company’s ability to rapidly expand its business. Companies that are limited to supplying local customers will not meet this requirement. | Detailed Reasoning - Scalability: 22. The company must be able to demonstrate that it has the potential to successfully scale up the business. The company must have operating leverage, where as it increases its market share or enters into new markets, its existing revenues can be multiplied with a reduced or minimal increase in operating costs per unit. | Detailed Reasoning - Broader than local market: 23. The company must be able to demonstrate that it has the potential to address a market that is broader than a local city, area or region. The company does not need to have a serviceable market at a national, multinational or global scale at the test time. However, it does need to show that the business is capable of addressing a market that is broader than a local market and that the business can be adapted to a broader scale in the future. | Detailed Reasoning - Competitive advantages: 24. The company must be able to demonstrate that it has the potential to have competitive advantages, such as a cost or differential advantage over its competitors which are sustainable for the business as it expands. The company can analyse what competitors in the market offer, and consider whether the company has a differentiating advantage that would allow it to outperform these competitors. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your circumstances: Test time 25. For the purposes of this ruling, the test time for determining if the Company is a qualifying ESIC will be a particular date during the income year ending 30 June 20ZZ. Current year 26. For the purposes of subsection 360-40(1), the current year will be the year ending 30 June 20ZZ (the 20ZZ income year). For clarity, in relation to particular requirements within subsection 360-40(1), the last three income years will include the years ending 30 June 20ZZ, 20YY and 20WW, and the income year before the current year will be the year ending 30 June 20YY (the 20YY income year). | Detailed Reasoning - Early stage test: Incorporation or Registration – paragraph 360-40(1)(a) 27. As the Company was incorporated in the current year, which is within the last 3 income years, subparagraph 360-40(1)(a)(i) is satisfied. Total expenses – paragraph 360-40(1)(b) 28. As the Company had expenses less than $1 million in the prior income year, paragraph 360-40(1)(b) is satisfied. Assessable income – paragraph 360-40(1)(c) 29. As the Company’s assessable income for the prior income year is less than $200,000, paragraph 360-40(1)(c) is satisfied. No stock exchange listing – paragraph 360-40(1)(d) 30. As the Company is privately owned and is not listed on any stock exchange in Australia or a foreign country, subparagraph 360-40(1)(d) is satisfied. Conclusion on early stage test 31. The Company will satisfy the early stage test for the entire 20ZZ income year, as each of the requirements within paragraphs 360-40(1)(a) to (d) have been satisfied. | Detailed Reasoning - Principles based test: Developing new or significantly improved innovations for commercialisation – subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(i) 32. The Company is developing a product, to provide real-time measurement and transmission of a particular kind of data. Due to its particular circumstances the Company is able to subsidise product delivery costs to the point where the solution can be offered free of charge to the user. 33. The Product has features which significantly differentiate it from similar products marketed by competitor companies. Genuinely focussed on developing for commercialisation – subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(i) 34. The Company has taken the following steps in developing the Product: a. Undertaken market research to identify weaknesses of competitor’s products for product gain. b. Identified markets into which the product could be introduced. 35. This has led to the Company identifying potential users in some States of Australia. Together these States represent a large number of potential users. 36. The timeline provides that the Company has been conducting small scale trials of the Product hardware and is in the process of scaling up testing. The testing process will gather user feedback on the product and resolve any hardware compatibility issues prior to releasing the design pack for contract manufacturers to provide quotations. The Company expects that the outcomes from the trials will lead to further development of the solution before subsequent commercialisation. 37. The Company’s genuine focus of developing its innovation for commercialisation is demonstrated in its vision and mission, solution and business model which contains its strategic, business and marketing plans, and applications to protect its intellectual property rights in the Product. Conclusion on subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(i) 38. The Company is genuinely focussed on developing the Product for a commercial purpose. The Product will be a significantly improved and less costly product compared to existing products that have similar features. 39. Therefore, subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(i) will be satisfied for the time period from 1 July 20YY until 30 June 20ZZ or the date when the Product has been fully developed, whichever occurs earliest. Once the Product has been fully developed, the Company will no longer be ‘developing’ the Product for commercialisation and subparagraph 360-40((1)(e)(i) will no longer be satisfied. High growth potential – subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(ii) 40. Due to its differentiating features (cost, technology, simplicity ease of installation and superior data quality), the Company expects the Product to appeal to a wider range of users than its competitors. This aids decision making and is particularly useful when assessing product or service viability in particular markets. 41. Through its commercialisation strategy, the Company hopes to foster widespread use of its product by aligning its base product pricing with the value of available subsidies. 42. Therefore, subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(ii) will be satisfied. Scalability – subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(iii) 43. The Company’s business model provided illustrates its competitive advantage over other devices that provide similar information and it is reasonable to conclude that there will be an increase in sales over time. 44. Given that the Product will be available domestically and in the future globally, it is expected that the Company has the potential to successfully scale up its business. 45. The Company’s staged strategy for market entry and its business model affords the Company the potential to successfully scale up its business. Therefore, subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(iii) will be satisfied. Broader than local market- subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(iv) 46. The Product will initially be targeted at Australian states but is intended for worldwide use. It will be released globally once it gains traction in the initial targeted markets. 47. The Product can be used locally, domestically and worldwide by relevant users. Thus, the ultimate addressable market is on a global scale and is not confined to a local city, area or region. 48. The Company has demonstrated the Product has the potential to address a broader market than just the local market, including international markets. Therefore, subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(iv) will be satisfied. Competitive advantages – subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(v) 49. The Product’s differentiating features (cost, technology, simplicity ease of installation and superior data quality), provide significant improvements to any similar products of other companies and thus give it a competitive advantage. 50. Holding the patent to intellectual property used in the Product gives the Company first mover advantage. The Company has demonstrated the potential for the Product to have a competitive advantage over other similar products in the target markets, satisfying subparagraph 360-40(1)(e)(v). Conclusion on principles test 51. The Company satisfies the principles based test as it satisfies the requirements within subparagraphs 360-40(1)(e)(i) to (v) for the period commencing 1 July 20YY until 30 June 20ZZ or the date when the Product has been fully developed and is ready for sale, whichever occurs earlier. Conclusion 52. The Company meets the eligibility criteria of an ESIC under section 360-40 for the period commencing 1 July 20YY until the earlier of 30 June 20ZZ or the date when the Product has been fully developed and is ready for sale, whichever occurs earlier.