Private ruling: Goods and services tax (GST) and conference held in Australian by overseas company
Date of advice: 8 December 2015
Published: February 2016

Ruling: Q1: Is Australian GST payable on the fees for the Australian conference? | A1: Yes. | Q2: Who should issue invoices for the conference fees? | A2: You. | Q3: Should you include Australian GST in the invoices for the conference fees? | A3: Yes. | Q4: What supporting documentation do you need for the Australian Business Number (ABN) registration application? | A4: A statement of Australian business activities and proof of identity documents. | Q5: What supporting documentation do you need for the GST registration application? | A5: A certificate of status of enterprise and proof of identify documents. | Q6: How do you declare the GST after you have had the conference and can you do so online? | A6: You will report the GST on the conference fees at label 1A of a Business Activity Statement, which you can lodge online.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are not registered for GST You are based outside Australia only. You arrange conferences all over the world. You will conduct a conference in Australia and charge attendance fees for this conference. The attendance fees will total over $75,000.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 7-1(1) | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-5 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-40 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 23-5 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-190

Reasons for decision: Summary: GST is payable on the conference fees because the requirements of section 9-5 of the A New System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) are met. | Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: GST is payable on taxable supplies. You make a taxable supply where you satisfy the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act, which states: You make a taxable supply if: (a) you make the supply for *consideration; and (b) the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an *enterprise that you *carry on; and (c) the supply is *connected with the indirect tax zone; and (d) you are *registered, or *required to be registered. However, the supply is not a *taxable supply to the extent that it is *GST-free or *input taxed. (*Denotes a term defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act) The indirect zone is Australia. The requirements of paragraphs 9-5(a) to 9-5(c) of the GST Act are met. That is: • the supplies of places in the conference held in Australia are for consideration • these supplies are made in the course of furtherance of your enterprise • these supplies will be connected with Australia (as the conference is to be held in Australia). There are no provisions of the GST Act under which your supplies of places in the conference are input taxed. Therefore, what remains to be determined is whether you will be required to be registered for GST and whether your supplies will be GST-free. In accordance with section 23-5 of the GST Act, you are required to be registered for GST because you are carrying on an enterprise and your revenue from the Australian conference will be over $75,000. Supplies consumed outside Australia may be GST-free under section 38-190 of the GST Act. The supply of a place in the conference is not GST-free under section 38-190 of the GST Act because the conference will be held in Australia. There are no other provisions of the GST Act under which your supplies of place in the conference are GST-free. Therefore, as all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act are met, GST is payable on the conference fees. | Detailed Reasoning - Question 2: You will issue invoices for the Australian conference fees in your name as you are conducting the conference. You do not need to set up a separate company in Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - Question 3: You should include Australian GST in the invoices for the conference fees because GST applies to these fees. | Detailed Reasoning - Question 4: After you have lodged the ABN registration application form, someone will contact you to request the following supporting documents. | Detailed Reasoning - A statement of business activities in Australia: You will need to write a brief statement that describes your planned business activities in Australia (staging the conference) and must identify if you only intend to make purchases in Australia. State that you do not have a place of business in Australia. This information needs to be provided in English and, if translated, needs to be certified as a true and correct copy by an authorised translation service. | Detailed Reasoning - Proof of identity for non-resident companies: A certified copy of a certificate of incorporation or registration from the relevant authority in your country. Where this is not relevant to your country, a signed statement to that effect is acceptable and must be signed by at least two directors. If the company is listed on a stock exchange, details of the listing. | Detailed Reasoning - Associates to be identified: The TFN or two certified identity documents for up to three non-resident directors. One of these documents must be a primary document (see information under headings 'primary documents' and 'secondary documents' below). The company must also provide: • the TFN or two uncertified identity documents (one of these documents must be a primary document) for any additional non-resident directors • the TFN or the names of the top 20 shareholders for each class of share for private and unlisted public companies. | Detailed Reasoning - Primary documents: • foreign birth certificate • foreign passport • Australian birth certificate • Australian passport. | Detailed Reasoning - Secondary documents: • national photo identification card • foreign government identification • marriage certificate - if this document is provided to verify your change of name it will not be classified as a second document • driver's licence - the address on the licence must match the home address provided. If an individual has changed their name, they must also provide another document showing the change, such as a marriage certificate, deed poll or change of name certificate. Copies of documents provided in support of an ABN or GST application should be certified as true and correct copies of the original document (with one exception as set out above). You must arrange for documents in another language to be translated into English and certified as a true and correct copy by an authorised translation service. The translation should also display an official stamp, or similar showing the certifier's accreditation. If the translation is obtained in your country, contact your nearest Australian embassy, high commission, or consulate to determine approved translators in that country. To lodge copies of the identification documents, you may: • mail • certified copies of your current identification documents; or • copies bearing an apostille if the issuing country is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention (for example, your country); or • email copies bearing an electronic apostille if the issuing country is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention to RegistrationsNonResident@ato.gov.au | Detailed Reasoning - Certified copies: Outside Australia, the following people are authorised to certify identity documents: • notaries • staff at your nearest Australian: • embassy, • high commission, and • consulates, including consulates headed by Austrade honorary consuls. Visit the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website at www.dfat.gov.au for a listing of these offices by country. An authorised certifier in the presence of the applicant should certify that each copy is a true and correct copy of the original document, by: • stamping, signing and annotating the copy of the identity document to state "I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true and correct copy of the original document sighted" • initialing each page • listing their name, date of certification, telephone number and position. | Detailed Reasoning - Copies bearing an apostille: Public documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, from outside Australia may be certified by way of an apostille. An apostille is a type of certification issued by a competent authority designated by the state in which a document was issued. We will accept paper and electronic documents certified by way of an apostille. If your country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, you can ask the Competent Authority in your country to certify a copy of your documents. | Detailed Reasoning - Certificate of status of enterprise: The certificate of status of enterprise must be issued by the non-resident's home tax authority and contain the following information: • The name and the nature of the enterprise/business • The date of commencement of the enterprise/business, and • The VAT/GST number of the enterprise/business in the entity's home country. The Commissioner accepts that a 'certificate of status of enterprise' issued by the non-resident entity's home tax authority will satisfy the enterprise requirement. Proof of identify documents as set out in the reasons for decision on question 4 must be provided. If a copy of the document is provided in support for the application, it should be certified as a true and correct copy of the original document. You must arrange for documents in another language to be translated into English and certified as a true and correct copy by an authorised translation service. Do not send the supporting documentation until the ABN/GST registration processing office requests it, which will be after it receives the ABN application. Applicants receive a reference number on completion of the application. You should quote this number when you send your documents or if you need to contact the ABN processing office. This number will help the office to identify your application. | Detailed Reasoning - Question 6: GST payable on sales is reported at label 1A of a Business Activity Statement, which is lodged with the ATO. You can lodge Business Activity Statements online using the ATO Business Portal. The blank BAS forms will show up on the ATO Business Portal. To use the ATO Business Portal, you will first need to obtain an ABN and AUSkey (an AUSkey is similar to a password).