Private ruling: GST - entitlement to refund
Date of advice: 30 April 2026
Published: 6 July 2026
Ruling period: <date> to <date>
Date scheme commenced: <date>

Ruling: Q1: Where the Commissioner has ruled that you did not make a taxable supply pursuant to section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) when you sold your property located at <address> (Lot X), are you entitled to a refund of the excess GST under Division 142 of the GST Act? | A1: Yes, you are entitled to a refund of the excess GST under Division 142 of the GST Act. The Commissioner considers you have not passed on the excess GST and section 142-10 of the GST Act does not apply.

Relevant facts and circumstances: This private ruling is based on the facts and circumstances set out below. If your facts and circumstances are different from those set out below, this private ruling has no effect and you cannot rely on it. Find out more about when you can rely on your private ruling at ato.gov.au/relyonprivateruling. As discussed between your tax agent and the ATO on <date>, the 2 questions for the private ruling would be provided in 2 separate rulings. Question 1 Were you, <entity name>, making a taxable supply pursuant to section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) when you sold the property located at Lot X and Lot Y, <address> (Lot XandLot Y)? Question 2 If the answer to question 1 is 'no', are you entitled to a refund of the excess GST under Division 142 of the GST Act, when you have treated the sale of Lot X as a taxable supply? The ruling for question 1 issued on <date> in which the Commissioner ruled that you did not make a taxable supply pursuant to section 9-5 of the GST Act. This ruling will cover question 2 only and has been modified to suit a stand-alone question. Modified question 2: Where the Commissioner has ruled that you did not make a taxable supply pursuant to section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) when you sold your property located at Lot X, <address> (Lot X), are you entitled to a refund of the excess GST under Division 142? Documents provided for this ruling are listed below: Documents supplied You <entity name> are a partnership and your partners are <name of partners> (Partners). On <date>, you applied for an ABN and GST registration. You were issued ABN: #. Both the ABN and GST registration took effect from <date>. On <date>, you cancelled both your ABN and GST registration. You purchased <address> (Property) on <date>, together with # contiguous titles. In <year>, you were struggling to maintain the Property due to the age of your partners and decided to subdivide and sell on a non-contingent basis. You obtained the planning permit together with a Plan of Subdivision from the <name of Council> (the Council) on <date> resulting in # lots. The Lot sizes are as follows: Information supplied. Lot X and Lot Y are vacant lots. Lot Z contains the existing residential premises. Lot A is a common title to allow separate access for Lot Z and Lot Y as shown in the diagram below. Diagram supplied. The subdivision was completed on <date> when the # new titles were simultaneously issued. On <date>, you engaged a real estate agent <name of real estate> (Real Estate Agent) to market the sale of Lot X and Lot Y (the Lots). Prior to the sale of the Lots, you were advised by your tax agent, <name of tax agent>, that GST did not apply to the sale, and you were not required to register for GST. You were advised that the sale of the Lots would be a capital gains tax event. In <month year>, your Real Estate Agent appraised and publicly listed the sale of Lot X online for $X. Lot Y was appraised at $X. Negotiations for Lot X and Lot Y were based on the sale not being subject to GST. You entered into a Contract of Sale of Land with the purchaser <name of purchaser(s)> (Purchaser) on <date> for the sale of Lot X on Plan of Subdivision No. # being the whole of the land contained in Certificate of Title Volume # and Folio # known as Lot X, <address>, for $X (Sale Contract). The Particulars of Sale in the Sale Contract shows the GST clause as follows. Information supplied. The reason that the Sale Contract was silent on GST withholding was because you simply did not believe that the sale was a taxable supply at the time of signing the Sale Contract. In month year, you met with your legal advisor, <name of legal adviser>, who advised you to register for GST. You then instructed your tax agent to apply for GST registration which was approved on <date> to take effect from <date>. You did not increase/adjust the sale price of Lot X subsequent to your GST registration. On <date>, your tax agent emailed your legal adviser in relation to the sale of the Lots. The emails include: Information supplied On <date>, a day prior to the settlement date, you gave a separate written document 'GST Withholding Notice' to the Purchaser of Lot X with details including that the Purchaser is required to withhold an amount of $X for GST to pay to the Commissioner of Taxation pursuant to section 14-250 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth). On <date>, a day prior to the settlement date, you entered into an agreement with the Purchaser to apply the margin scheme to the supply of Lot X. The agreement includes the following details: Extracts from the margin scheme agreement An amount of $X was withheld at settlement and remitted by the Purchaser to the ATO on the <date>. The amount $X was calculated at #% of the sale price $X to reflect the calculation based on the margin scheme. On <date>, you lodged your business activity statement (BAS) for the quarterly period ended <date>, reporting the sales of $X for Lot X together with capital acquisitions of $X and non-capital acquisitions of $X. The reporting resulted in a liability of $X with $X withholding credit being applied to offset the liability. You paid the balance owing of $X on <date>. You considered using the margin scheme was inconsistent because you had erroneously taken the Property as being purchased prior to <date> (instead of year). In addition, you were uncertain whether you had agreed to use the margin scheme at the time of your purchase . You rectified the inconsistency upon lodgement of the BAS which reported $X as the GST component for the sale worked out as 1/11th of $X. In this ruling, you are requesting the Commissioner's discretion to refund excess GST remitted, in accordance with Division 142 of the GST Act and Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2015/1 Goods and services tax: the meaning of the terms 'passed on' and 'reimburse' for the purposes of Division 142 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GSTR 2015/1). Your request is only in relation to the sale of Lot X that was reported in the quarterly tax period ending <date> and you provided the following reasons for your request: Information provided.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Division 142 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 195-1