The AAT has affirmed the Tax Practitioners Board’s ruling that an applicant had not successfully completed a course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles that was approved by the Board thereby denying him eligibility for registration as a BAS agent.
The applicant lodged an application online for registration as a BAS agent and stated that he had completed the “CPA Seminar on GST/BAS National Tax Agents & Accountants FBT Seminar National Tax Agents & Accountants Income Tax Basics Days 1 & 2”. The applicant also provided that he been employed with a company since 1993 up to his retirement and that he had been responsible for the implementation of GST at that company and for “all of the BAS/GST calculations and returns”. In rejecting the applicant’s application, the Board decided the courses completed were “only CPE events” and were not equal to a Board approved course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles.
The AAT acknowledged the applicant’s significant (more than 30 years) experience in the accounting profession and that he had participated in extensive CPD activities throughout his career and was sympathetic to his position. However, it said the evidence was clear that the seminars undertaken did not meet the legislative requirements for an approved course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles. Consequently, the AAT held the applicant did not meet the prescribed requirement under item 101(b) or 102(b) in Div 1 of Pt 1 of Sch 2 to the Tax Agent Services Regulations 2009 of having “successfully completed a course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles that is approved by the Board” and, therefore, it held he was not eligible for registration under s20-5(1) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
(Re Walsh and Tax Practitioners Board [2016] AATA 525, AAT, File No: 2016/0304, Walsh SM, 25 July 2016.)