Registration as an individual BAS agent

This document is intended to provide an overview of the process for registration as an individual BAS agent pursuant to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). This document is for information only, and may be changed from time to time. It is not a formal Board guideline. Please refer to the TASA for the precise content of the legislative requirements.

Who must register?

You must be registered as a BAS agent or a tax agent to provide a ‘BAS service’ for a fee or other reward.

A ‘BAS service’ is a ‘tax agent service’ that relates to:

• ascertaining liabilities, obligations or entitlements of an entity that arise, or could arise, under a ‘BAS provision’, or
• advising an entity about liabilities, obligations or entitlements of the entity or another entity that arise, or could arise, under a BAS provision, or
• representing an entity in their dealings with the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) in relation to a BAS provision, and

that is provided in circumstances where the entity can reasonably be expected to rely on the service for the purpose of satisfying liabilities or obligations that arise, or could arise, under a BAS provision and/or to claim entitlements that arise, or could arise, under a BAS provision.

A ‘BAS provision’ includes:

• goods and services tax (GST) law
• wine equalisation tax (WET) law
• luxury car tax (LCT) law
• fuel tax law
• fringe benefits tax (FBT) law (relating to collection and recovery only)
• pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
• PAYG instalments.

A list of indicative BAS services can be found in Appendix A.

Who is not required to register?

You are not required to register as a BAS agent if:

• you are an employee who is providing BAS services to your employer
• you are registered as a tax agent
• you are a customs broker licensed under Part XI of the Customs Act 1901 and the BAS service relates to imports or exports to which an indirect tax law applies
• you are permitted to provide the BAS service as a legal service under a state or territory law that regulates legal practice and the provision of legal services, and you provide the BAS service in the course of acting for a trust or deceased estate as trustee or legal personal representative, or
• you are permitted to provide the BAS service as a legal service under a state or territory law that regulates legal practice and the provision of legal services, and the BAS service does not involve the preparation or lodgement of a return or a return-like statement such as a BAS, instalment activity statement, superannuation guarantee statement or pay as you go withholding payment summary statement.

What if you do not register?

You may contravene a civil penalty provision if you are unregistered and you provide BAS services for a fee or other reward.

You may also contravene a civil penalty provision if you are unregistered and you:

• advertise that you will provide BAS services, and/or
• represent yourself as a registered BAS agent.

Civil penalties of up to $27,500 (250 penalty units) may apply under the civil penalty provisions of the TASA.

What are the eligibility requirements for registration?

You are eligible for registration as a registered BAS agent if you are at least 18 years of age, and you meet both of the following requirements:

1. you are a fit and proper person, and
2. you meet the prescribed requirements relating to qualifications and experience.

1. Fit and proper person

In deciding whether you are a fit and proper person, the Board must have regard to the following:

• whether you are a person of good fame, integrity and character, and
• whether any of the following events have occurred during the previous five years
  • you have had the status of an undischarged bankrupt
  • you have served a term of imprisonment in whole or in part
  • you have been convicted of a serious taxation offence
  • you have been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty
  • you have been penalised for being a promoter of a tax exploitation scheme
  • you have been penalised for implementing a scheme that has been promoted on the basis of conformity with a product ruling in a way that is materially different from that described in the product ruling, and/or
  • you have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

For further information regarding these events, refer to the information sheet Events that may affect your continued registration.

2. Prescribed qualifications and experience

To satisfy the prescribed qualifications and experience requirement, you must meet the conditions relating to one of the criteria detailed in the table below.

What does relevant experience mean?

‘Relevant experience’ means work by an individual:

• as a registered tax agent or BAS agent
• under the supervision and control of a registered tax agent or BAS agent, or
• of another kind approved by the Board.

in the course of which the individual’s work has included substantial involvement in one or more types of BAS services.

‘Substantial involvement’ means ample or considerable amount of involvement. It requires more than simply being involved from time to time in the provision of one or more types of BAS services.

How do you register?

To register as a BAS agent, you must meet the eligibility requirements set out above and lodge an application in the approved form.

The Board is required to decide your application within six months of receiving it. If the Board does not decide your application within this time, the Board is taken to have rejected your application.

Need more information?

Further information is available on the Board’s website at www.tpb.gov.au