What is a ‘BAS service’?
The following is intended as information only and is not a formal Board guideline. While it seeks to provide practical assistance and explanation, it does not exhaust, prescribe or limit the scope of the Board’s powers provided in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. This information does not constitute legal advice and may be changed from time to time.
A BAS service
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), and
that is provided in circumstances where the entity can reasonably be expected to rely on the service for either or both of the following purposes:
- to satisfy liabilities or obligations that arise, or could arise, under a BAS provision,
- to claim entitlement 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.
Examples of a BAS service
A BAS service includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- preparing or lodging an approved form about a taxpayer’s liabilities, obligations or entitlements under a BAS provision
- giving a taxpayer advice about a BAS provision that the taxpayer can reasonably be expected to rely upon to satisfy their taxation obligations, or
- dealing with the Commissioner on behalf of a taxpayer in relation to a BAS provision.
A list of indicative BAS services can be found in Appendix A – Examples of BAS services.
The following table provides a non-exhaustive list of the types of services, which if provided for a fee or reward, may constitute a ‘BAS service’. There is a description of what a BAS service is in the pages before this Appendix and in the BAS service information sheet.
Appendix A – Examples of BAS services
|
Service
|
BAS service
|
Not a tax agent service
or BAS service
|
|
Installing computer accounting software without determining default GST and other codes tailored to the client
|
|
X
|
|
Installing computer accounting software and determining default GST and other codes tailored to the client
|
X
|
|
|
Reconciling BAS provision data entry to ascertain the figures to be included on a client’s activity statement
|
X
|
|
|
Filling in the activity statement on behalf of an entity or instructing the entity which figures to include
|
X
|
|
|
Coding tax invoices and transferring data onto a computer program for clients under the instruction and supervision of a registered BAS agent
|
|
X
|
|
General training in relation to the use of computerised accounting software, not related to particular fact situations
|
|
X
|
|
Preparing bank reconciliations
|
|
X
|
|
Entering data
|
|
X
|
|
Ascertaining the withholding obligations for the employees’ of your clients. This includes the preparation of payment summaries.
|
X
|
|