{"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The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made.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":"**What this does:**\n\nThis Determination sets out the rules for how Australian businesses can fix mistakes (called \"errors\") in their past GST (Goods and Services Tax) returns without having to formally amend old tax assessments. It replaces an older 2013 Determination.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nAny business or entity registered for GST that discovers it made a mistake in calculating how much GST it owed or was owed in a previous tax period. This includes:\n- **Credit errors**: When you accidentally paid too much GST (or claimed too little) — you can generally correct these more easily.\n- **Debit errors**: When you accidentally paid too little GST (or claimed too much) — these have stricter rules.\n\n**How it works:**\n\nInstead of lodging an amendment to an old tax return, you can correct the error in your *current* GST return if you meet certain conditions:\n\n- **Timing**: The mistake must relate to a tax period starting on or after 1 July 2012, and you must still be within the \"period of review\" (the time limit for the ATO to review your assessment — generally 4 years).\n- **No active audit**: You can't use this shortcut if the ATO is already examining that tax period (a \"compliance activity\"), unless the ATO gives written permission.\n- **Haven't fixed it already**: You can't correct the same error twice.\n\n**Special rules for debit errors (underpayments):**\n\nBecause underpaying GST is more serious, extra conditions apply:\n- **No intentional wrongdoing**: The mistake can't be from recklessness or intentional disregard of GST law.\n- **Time limits vary by business size**:\n  - Small businesses (under $20m turnover): 18 months to fix\n  - Larger businesses: 12 months to fix\n- **Dollar limits apply**: The total of all debit errors you're correcting can't exceed caps ranging from **$12,500** (small business) up to **$560,000** (businesses with $1 billion+ turnover).\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis creates a simpler, faster way for businesses to fix honest mistakes without expensive amendment processes. It reduces red tape while still protecting the revenue — bigger businesses face tighter time limits and higher scrutiny, and you can't use this method to escape an active ATO audit or to fix deliberate underpayments."},"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"}},"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"}}