Tax Agents Services Act

The Tax Agents Services legislation affecting tax agents and BAS providers took effect as of 1 March 2010.

The aim of the act is to ensure that services provided to the public by Tax and BAS agents is of an appropriate ethical and professional standard.

A number of changes were instituted that relate to the Tax Agents Services Act 2009.

• The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) was established
• State-based Tax Agent Boards were abolished
• Registration and regulation of Tax agents and BAS agents
• Introduction of safe harbour provisions

Members who offer Tax or BAS services for a fee now need to be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and fulfil educational, ethical and professional requirements. (Tax requirements, BAS requirements, Tax Agents Services Regulations Act 2009)

Members who were registered as a Tax Agent prior to 1 March 2010 were deemed as registered under the new law and must re-register under the new system when their previous license comes up for renewal. (Tax Agent Services (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009)

The Tax Practitioners Board has provided FAQ documents on the new Act:

• for Tax agents
• for BAS agents

We recommend that you check the Tax Practitioners Board website for the latest information.

Under the new law, anyone providing BAS agent services for a fee must be registered.

The IPA is offering Certificate IV training to assist BAS providers seeking registration as BAS agents under the new regime. Members can encourage staff or contractors doing BAS work to enrol in the IPA's Certificate IV course.

Under the safe harbour provisions, taxpayers are not liable to administrative penalties for either failing to lodge on time, or making false or misleading statements under certain circumstances.

The safe harbour provisions can only apply to:

• a false or misleading statement penalty where the statement is made on or after 1 March 2010
• a failure to lodge on time penalty, where the document has a due date for lodgment of 1 March 2010 or later.

The IPA's technical team can assist members with regards to the Act.  Please contact the IPA senior tax adviser, Tony Greco, with any queries you may have.