Private ruling: tax invoice
Published: September 2011

Ruling: Q1: Does the proposed tax invoice from you satisfy the requirements of a tax invoice in section 29-70(1)(c) (i) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)? | A1: Yes, the proposed tax invoice from you satisfy the requirements of a tax invoice in section 29-70(1)(c) (i) of the GST Act.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are registered for GST. You are not a member of a "GST group" within the meaning of the GST Act. Your= run a business. You provided us with sample current tax invoices. On those tax invoices, the supplier's name, ACN and trading name and ABN are listed. You wish to remove the supplier's legal name and ACN from your tax invoices. Therefore you submit a proposed tax invoice with the trading name/business name for our approval.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Subsection 29-70(1). | A New Tax System (GST) Regulations 1999 subregulation 29-70.01 | A New Tax System (GST) Regulations 1999 subregulation 29-70.02

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 29-70 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) sets out the requirements for a tax invoice. Goods and Services Tax Ruling (GSTR) 2000/17 sets out the information requirements for a tax invoice. GSTR 2000/17 is withdrawn on 25 May 2011 since subsection 29-70(1) of the GST Act, and regulations 29-70.01 and 29-70.02 of the A New Tax System (GST) Regulations 1999 (GST Regulations) have been replaced. From 1 July 2010, changes to tax invoices were introduced as part of the Board of Taxation's review of the legal framework for the administration of GST. Requirements for the content of tax invoices are less prescriptive and more flexible than they previously were. This means that documents containing minor errors may still be treated as tax invoices. GSTR 2000/17 is replaced by Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2011/D1. Paragraph 43 of GSTR 2011/D1 states that when the final ruling is issued, it is proposed to apply on and from 1 July 2010. Subsection 29-70(1) of the GST Act, as amended, states: A tax invoice is a document that complies with the following requirements: (a) it is issued by the supplier of the supply or supplies to which the document relates, unless it is a *recipient created tax invoice (in which case it is issued by the *recipient); (b) it is in the *approved form; (c) it contains enough information to enable the following to be clearly ascertained: (i) the supplier's identity and the supplier's *ABN; (ii) if the total *price of the supply or supplies is at least $1,000 or such higher amount as the regulations specify, or if the document was issued by the recipient - the recipient's identity or the recipient's ABN; (iii) what is supplied, including the quantity (if applicable) and the price of what is supplied; (iv) the extent to which each supply to which the document relates is a *taxable supply; (v) the date the document is issued; (vi) the amount of GST (if any) payable in relation to each supply to which the document relates; (vii) if the document was issued by the recipient and GST is payable in relation to any supply - that the GST is payable by the supplier; (viii) such other matters as the regulations specify; (d) it can be clearly ascertained from the document that the document was intended to be a tax invoice or, if it was issued by the recipient, a recipient created tax invoice. Paragraphs 10 to 14 of GSTR 2011/D1 state as follows: 10. A document is in the approved form for a tax invoice if it includes the information required by subsection 29-70(1)… 11. Paragraph 29-70(1)(c) requires specific information to be clearly ascertainable from the document. This means that provided the information can be found in the document, or determined from information within the document, it does not matter that it is not specifically stated or in a particular format. This also means that it must be clear what the information represents. 12. If the information can only be determined by reference to another external source (such as the Australian Business Register (ABR)) or document, the information cannot be clearly ascertained from the document. | Detailed Reasoning - Identity of the supplier or recipient: 13. A tax invoice must include information to establish the identity of the supplier, and the recipient if applicable. Information sufficient to identify the supplier or recipient includes, but is not limited to, the legal name of the entity, the business name, or the trading name. 14. In the case of a tax invoice issued by the trustee of a trust it is the trustee's identity and ABN (as trustee) that must be clearly ascertainable from the document. Information sufficient to identify the trustee would include the legal name of the trustee acting in that capacity. Paragraph 68 of GSTR 2011/D1 states as follows: | Detailed Reasoning - Identity of the supplier or recipient: 68. The term 'identity' is not defined in the GST Act and therefore takes its ordinary meaning. To satisfy this requirement the tax invoice would need to include enough information to establish the identity of the supplier, and the recipient if applicable. Information sufficient to identify the supplier or recipient includes, but is not limited to, the legal name of the entity; the business name; or the trading name. Typically, a taxi driver licence or accreditation number is not sufficient to identify the supplier. In this case refer to Example 7 at paragraphs 171 to 172 of Appendix 3 to this Ruling. | Detailed Reasoning - Tax invoices issued by the trustee of a trust: 69. Although an entity is defined to include a trust, a trust has no legal personality and so will not be registered in its own right on the ABR. Rather, the trustee of the trust will be registered and will be issued with an ABN in its capacity as trustee. The legal name of the entity will be identified on the register as the trustee for the particular trust. 70. For a supply made by the trustee of a trust, in its trustee capacity, it is the trustee's identity and ABN (as trustee of the trust) that must be clearly ascertainable from the tax invoice. Information sufficient to identify the trustee of the trust would include the legal name for the trustee in that capacity, for example, Jones' Pty Ltd as Trustee for the Jones' Family Trust. In your case, you wish to substitute your legal name on the proposed tax invoice by the trading name/ registered business name. Subsection 29-70(1) of the GST does not refer to any specific requirement that an entity's name on a tax invoice has to be the legal or the trading name of the entity as it appears on the ABR. Goods and Services Tax Advice GSTA TPP 030 advises that the name on a tax invoice is to provide a clear and accurate indication of who the entity is. It advises that the name on a tax invoice must be a clear and unambiguous word or combination of words by which the recipient is designated or known. Whether this is the entity's trading name, business name or legal name does not make any difference to the requirements of a tax invoice. It further advises that for identifying entities and distinguishing between particular entities the ATO will rely primarily on the ABN. This is one of the reasons why the ABN of the supplier must be shown on all tax invoices. Although this GST Advice is based on the withdrawn GSTR 2000/17, it is still applicable because it is consistent with the amendments to section 27-1 of the GST Act, which include the removal of the requirement that a tax invoice must specify the supplier's name. As there is no requirement in the GST Act that a name be registered to be a 'business' or 'trading' name, it is considered that a name by which the entity is commonly known and identified in a commercial sense would be sufficient to satisfy the tax invoice requirements. Your proposed tax invoice shows the correct ABN of the supplier, and the business name, as well as trading name. Therefore, the proposed tax invoice from you satisfies the requirements of a tax invoice in section 29-70(1)(c) (i) of the GST Act.

Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. If you have any concerns about this ruling you wish to discuss, you will find our contact details in the fact sheet.