{"id":"F2023L01284","name":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Correcting GST Errors) Determination 2023","slug":"a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442093,"registerId":"F2023L01284-fast-fetch-1775957195780","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Correcting GST Errors) Determination 2023","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Correcting GST Errors) Determination 2023\n\nI, Ben Kelly, Deputy Commissioner of Taxation, make the following determination.\n\nDated  6 September 2023\n\nBen Kelly\n\nDeputy Commissioner of Taxation\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Schedules\n\n6  When an error may be corrected\n\n7  Conditions for correcting a debit error\n\n8  Error cannot be corrected by amending an assessment for later tax period\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nGoods and Services Tax: Correcting GST Errors Determination 2013\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Correcting GST Errors) Determination 2023.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under [subsection 17-20(1)](http://atolaw/230220081719/ViewFrame.htm?LocID=%22PAC%2F19990055%2F17-20(1)%22&PiT=99991231235958) of the Act.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in Division 195 of the Act, including the following:\n\n(a)      assessed net amount;\n\n(b)      assessment;\n\n(c)      current GST turnover;\n\n(d)      GST group;\n\n(e)      GST return;\n\n(f)       net amount;\n\n(g)      period of review;\n\n(h)      tax period.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\nCommissioner means the Commissioner of Taxation.\n\ncompliance activity means an examination of your GST affairs (other than an activity that the Commissioner notifies you in writing is not a compliance activity for the purposes of this instrument), and begins on the day the Commissioner advises you that an examination is to be made and ends on the day when the Commissioner:\n\n (a) gives a notice of assessment or notice of amended assessment in relation to the tax period under examination; or\n\n (b) advises you that the examination has been finalised.\n\nNote: A compliance activity can be any examination of your GST affairs, including matters related to reviews, audits, verification checks, record-keeping reviews or audits, and other similar activities.\n\ncredit error means a mistake you made in working out your net amount for an earlier tax period that would, if it was the only mistake made in the tax period, have resulted in your assessed net amount for that earlier tax period being overstated.\n\ncredit error amount means the amount by which the assessed net amount for an earlier tax period would be overstated because of a credit error.\n\ndebit error means a mistake you made in working out your net amount for an earlier tax period that would, if it was the only mistake made in the tax period, have resulted in your assessed net amount for that earlier tax period being understated.\n\ndebit error amount means the amount by which the assessed net amount for an earlier tax period would be understated because of a debit error.\n\n  error means a credit error or a debit error but does not include a mistake that relates to:             \n\n (a) an input tax credit, where your entitlement to that input tax credit has ceased under Division 93 of the Act; or\n\n (b) an amount that the Commissioner need not refund to you under section 105-65 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.\n\nNote 1: Section 105-65 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 has been repealed, but continues to apply to overpaid GST that relates to tax periods starting on or before 30 May 2014.\n\nNote 2: In circumstances where subsection 29-10(4) or section 142-10 of the Act applies there will be no error for the purposes of this instrument despite any mistake made, as the assessed net amount for the earlier tax period will not be overstated.\n\nnet sum of the debit errors means the sum of any debit error amounts, less the sum of any credit error amounts, which you include in the net amount for the tax period in which you seek to correct a debit error for an earlier tax period.\n\n5  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n6  When an error may be corrected\n\n  In working out your net amount for a tax period, you may correct an error you made in an earlier tax period if:\n\n (a) the error relates to an amount of GST, an input tax credit or any adjustments under the Act;\n\n (b) the earlier tax period started on or after 1 July 2012;\n\n (c) you lodge the GST return for the tax period within the period of review for the assessment of the net amount of the earlier tax period;\n\n (d) at the time of lodging your GST return for the tax period:\n\n (i) the error does not relate to a matter that you have been notified is subject to a compliance activity, and was not made in working out your net amount for an earlier tax period that is subject to compliance activity; or\n\n (ii) if paragraph (i) does not apply, the Commissioner has notified you in writing that the error can be corrected under this instrument;\n\n (e) you have not corrected that error, to any extent, in working out your net amount for another tax period; and\n\n (f) where the error is a debit error, the conditions in section 7 are met.\n\n7  Conditions for correcting a debit error\n\n  In working out your net amount for a tax period, a debit error you made in an earlier tax period may be corrected if:\n\n (a) the error was not a result of recklessness as to the operation of a GST law or intentional disregard of a GST law;\n\n (b) the error is corrected in a GST return that is lodged within the debit error time limit that corresponds with your current GST turnover specified in the table below; and\n\n (c) the net sum of the debit errors is less than the debit error value limit that corresponds with your current GST turnover specified in the table below.\n\n \n\n| Current GST turnover | Debit error time limit | Debit error value limit |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Less than $20 million | 18 months after the due date of the GST return for the tax period in which the error was made | $12,500 |\n| $20 million to less than $100 million | 12 months after the due date of the GST return for the tax period in which the error was made | $25,000 |\n| $100 million to less than $500 million | 12 months after the due date of the GST return for the tax period in which the error was made | $50,000 |\n| $500 million to less than $1 billion | 12 months after the due date of the GST return for the tax period in which the error was made | $100,000 |\n| $1 billion and over | 12 months after the due date of the GST return for the tax period in which the error was made | $560,000 |\n\n\nNote: For a GST group, the current GST turnover is calculated for the group by including supplies that you and any other GST group members make in accordance with subsection 188-15(2) of the Act.\n\n8  Error cannot be corrected by amending an assessment for a later tax period\n\n  You cannot correct an error you made in working out your net amount for an earlier tax period by requesting an amendment of your assessment for a later tax period.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nGoods and Services Tax: Correcting GST Errors Determination 2013\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward remake of the 2013 Determination with no material expansion of scope. It maintains the same purpose (providing an alternative to formal amendments for correcting GST errors) and similar structural limits. The turnover thresholds and dollar limits appear consistent with the previous instrument's intent, merely updated for inflation/business size categories."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple defined terms (8 specific definitions plus 8 referenced from the parent Act)","Nested conditional logic in section 6 with 6 separate conditions that must all be satisfied","Tiered thresholds in section 7 requiring cross-referencing of business size against two different variables (time limit and dollar limit)","Exclusions from the definition of 'error' that require understanding of other legislative provisions (Division 93 and repealed section 105-65)","Interaction with 'compliance activity' definition that creates exceptions to the general rule","Cross-references to the GST Act 1999 for core concepts (assessed net amount, GST group, period of review, etc.)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination lets GST-registered businesses correct past GST return errors by adjusting their current return instead of lodging amendments, replacing a 2013 ruling. It covers both credit (overpayments/underclaims) and debit (underpayments/overclaims) errors, but debit errors face stricter time, dollar and intent limits. It speeds honest corrections and reduces red tape while preserving ATO oversight and excluding periods under active review."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The instrument expressly repeals the Goods and Services Tax: Correcting GST Errors Determination 2013 (Schedule 1) and substitutes a new framework setting when and how taxpayers may correct past GST errors in later GST returns, with defined exclusions, turnover‑based time/value limits and Commissioner notification rules (ss5–8)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-referenced definitions in Division 195 of the Act used throughout (s4).","Distinct treatment and definitions of credit errors and debit errors, including a net-sum calculation for debit corrections (s4, definition of 'net sum of the debit errors').","Tiered time limits and value caps for correcting debit errors tied to current GST turnover with five turnover bands (s7 and table).","Exclusions for input tax credits whose entitlement has ceased under Division 93 and amounts excluded by section 105-65 (s4, notes).","Requirement that the later return be lodged within the period of review for the earlier assessment (s6(c)), creating interaction with assessment review timeframes.","Interaction with Commissioner-led compliance activities: errors subject to a notified compliance activity cannot be corrected unless the Commissioner permits it in writing (s6(d)).","Behavioural and culpability threshold: debit errors cannot be corrected if they result from recklessness or intentional disregard (s7(a)).","Prohibition on correcting an earlier-period error by amending a later-period assessment (s8) — narrows remedial options.","Calculation rule for GST groups referencing subsection 188-15(2) for current GST turnover (s7 note), adding aggregation complexity.","Full repeal of the prior Determination (Schedule 1) — requires taxpayers and advisers to transition to the new rule set."],"plain_english_summary":"Mechanically, this instrument repeals the 2013 Determination and sets rules that allow a taxpayer to correct certain past GST mistakes by adjusting a later GST return instead of amending an earlier assessment (see Schedule 1; ss 5–6). It defines credit and debit errors and excludes certain input-tax-credit reversals (s4). It affects any entity that lodges GST returns (including GST groups) by imposing time and value caps for correcting debit errors and by requiring Commissioner notification or absence of a compliance activity before correction (ss6(d),7)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023","history":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-correcting-gst-errors-determination-2023/documents"}}