Tax invoices for GST
Emma Hollow

The Australian Taxation Office has released draft regulations stipulating the requirements of GST tax invoices. The draft regulations prescribe the specific information that needs to be included in a document for it to be used by a supplier (or in some circumstances a recipient) as a tax invoice.

A tax invoice is documentary evidence of the supply of goods and services in a way that complies with the requirements of subsection 29-70(1) and (if applicable) section 54-50 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.

The holding of a tax invoice is necessary to obtain an entitlement to input tax credits for creditable acquisitions greater than $50. Furthermore, the tax invoice will allow you to attribute an input tax credit to a particular period.

Many of your existing transaction documents will already include some of the tax invoice requirements. With some amendments, it is likely that these existing documents can achieve compliance with the tax invoice requirements stipulated in section 29-70.

Section 29-70 requires that a tax invoice be in the approved form and state:

• The ABN of the entity that issues it;
• The price of the supply; and
• Other information as the regulations specify.

At this stage, we can only go by what the draft regulations tell us. The regulations may change and as yet have no legal force.

• The ABN of the entity that issues it;
• The price of the supply;
• The words "tax invoice" stated prominently on the document;
• The date of the issue of the tax invoice;
• The name, or trading name of the supplier;
• The name of the recipient;
• The address or ABN of the recipient;
• A brief description of each thing supplied; and
• The quantity or volume of what was supplied.

There are additional requirements depending on whether the supply is for:

    (a)    a taxable supply and the GST payable on it is 1/11 of the price
    (b)    a taxable supply and the GST payable on it is less than 1/11 of the price
    (c)    a mixed supply, part of which is taxable and part of which is GST-free,
             input taxed or a supply made before 1 July 2000.

What are the additional requirements for a tax invoice for a type (a) supply?

Must state either:

    (a)    the words "the total price includes GST for the supply"; or
    (b)    the GST-exclusive value and the amount of the GST

    (a)    Must show the GST exclusive value and the amount of GST

* Note:This will only apply to the supply of long-term accommodation in commercial residential premises (Division 87, A New Tax System (Goods and Services) Act 1999)

Must identify each taxable supply and show:

    (a)    the GST-exclusive amount of the supply;
    (b)    the amount f GST payable; and
    (c)    the total amount payable

• The ABN of the entity that issues it
• The price of the supply
• The words "tax invoice" stated prominently on the document
• The date of the issue of the tax invoice
• The name, or trading name of the supplier
• A brief description of each thing supplied
  

Recipient created tax invoices may be for either:

    (a)    a taxable supply and the GST payable on it is 1/11 of the price; or
    (b)    a mixed supply, part of which is taxable and part of which is GST-free,
             input taxed or a supply made before 1 July 2000

Requirements for recipient created tax invoices are the same as tax invoices for supplies of $1000 or more but with these differences:

• The words "recipient created tax invoice" must be shown prominently on the document
• The ABN of both the supplier and the recipient
• The words "the GST is payable by the supplier" must be included
  

It is important to note that the Commissioner has said that until the tax invoice regulations are finalised and suppliers have an ABN number, any documents issued as tax invoices will not be treated as such for the purposes of the new legislation.