{"id":"C2005A00003","name":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Act 2005","slug":"a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"3 of 2005","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7832,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2005A00003-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Act 2005","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![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Act 2005\n\n \n\nNo. 3, 2005\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to implement A New Tax System by imposing the tax payable under the GST law, so far as that tax is imposed on recipients of taxable supplies and is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Imposition\n\n4 Rate\n\n5 Act does not impose a tax on property of a State\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Act 2005\n\nNo. 3, 2005\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to implement A New Tax System by imposing the tax payable under the GST law, so far as that tax is imposed on recipients of taxable supplies and is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise\n\n[Assented to 18 February 2005]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Act 2005.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on 1 July 2005.\n\n3  Imposition\n\n (1) The tax that is payable under the GST law is imposed by this section under the name of goods and services tax (GST).\n\n (2) This section imposes GST only so far as that tax:\n\n (a) would be imposed on the recipient of a taxable supply; and\n\n (b) is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.\n\n (3) In this section, GST law, recipient and taxable supply have the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\n4  Rate\n\n  The rate of goods and services tax payable under the GST law (within the meaning of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999) is 10%.\n\n5  Act does not impose a tax on property of a State\n\n (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n\n (2) Property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.\n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 8 December 2004\n\nSenate on 9 December 2004]\n\n(251/04)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation maintains its original narrow purpose. It was always intended as a constitutional 'imposition' mechanism for recipient-borne GST, separate from customs and excise duties. The scope remains tightly constrained to that specific function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute — only 5 sections across 2 pages","Minimal defined terms — only 3 terms defined by reference to external legislation (GST law, recipient, taxable supply)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond basic constitutional carve-outs","Simple rate provision — flat 10% with no tiers or conditions","Heavy reliance on external legislation (A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999) for substantive content","Single constitutional safeguard (Section 5) with straightforward reference to section 114 of the Constitution"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is one of Australia's **GST imposition acts** — a short but crucial piece of legislation that formally creates the legal authority to collect the 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) from **recipients** (the people or businesses buying goods and services).\n\n**Why it exists:**\n\nAustralia's Constitution has strict rules about how taxes can be imposed. Section 55 says laws imposing taxes must only deal with taxation, and section 114 protects state governments from certain federal taxes. To work around these constitutional limits, Parliament passed **multiple separate GST laws** rather than one big law. This particular Act handles the GST charged to **recipients of taxable supplies** — ordinary transactions where a business sells something to a customer.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Consumers and businesses** who buy goods and services (the \"recipients\")\n- **The Australian Taxation Office**, which uses this Act as legal backing to collect GST\n\n**Key points:**\n\n- **Sets the GST rate at 10%** (Section 4)\n- **Only applies to recipient-borne GST** — not GST paid at customs (imported goods) or excise duties (Section 3)\n- **Protects state property** — explicitly states this tax doesn't apply to property owned by state governments (Section 5), respecting constitutional limits\n- **Relies on definitions** from the main GST Act of 1999 for terms like \"taxable supply\" and \"recipient\"\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nWithout this Act, the ATO would lack constitutional authority to collect GST on everyday purchases. It's a **legal foundation stone** that makes Australia's consumption tax system valid under the Constitution."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act does not broaden the scope beyond its original, stated purpose. It narrowly implements the legal imposition of GST on recipients, sets the rate at 10%, and records constitutional carve-outs (customs/excise and State property). It deliberately defers definitions, compliance mechanics and administration to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, so it functions as a focused imposition instrument rather than expanding the GST regime's substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["5 sections only (short statute)","One substantive cross-reference to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 for core definitions (section 3(3))","Two constitutional cross-references/limits: 'duty of customs or duty of excise' (section 3(2)(b)) referencing Constitution s55 meaning, and 'property of any kind belonging to a State' tied to Constitution s114 (section 5(2))","Single, unconditional rate provision setting GST at 10% (section 4)","A single conditional imposition clause limiting tax to recipients of taxable supplies (section 3(2)(a))","No nested exceptions or multiple tiers of conditional logic within this Act — complexity instead is deferred to the GST Act 1999"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanically)\n\n- Starts on 1 July 2005 (section 2).\n- Imposes the goods and services tax (GST) as a legal tax on the recipient (buyer) of a taxable supply (section 3(1)–(2)).\n- Limits that imposition to GST that is not a duty of customs or a duty of excise (section 3(2)(b)).\n- Sets the GST rate at 10% (section 4).\n- Says the Act does not impose a tax on property belonging to a State; the phrase \"property of any kind belonging to a State\" is to be read as in section 114 of the Constitution (section 5).\n- Uses the same meanings for the terms GST law, recipient and taxable supply as the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (section 3(3)).\n\nWho is affected\n\n- Recipients of \"taxable supplies\" as defined in the GST Act 1999 — typically buyers of goods or services that are subject to GST.\n- Suppliers who must account for and remit GST under the GST law (the Act itself names the tax and its incidence but relies on the GST Act 1999 for definitions and administrative rules).\n- State governments as owners of property: the Act expressly does not tax State property (section 5).\n\nWhy it matters (practical effects and legal mechanics)\n\n- Legal incidence: this Act places the legal liability for GST on recipients of taxable supplies (section 3). In practice suppliers usually collect GST as part of the price and remit it under the GST Act 1999, but the statute here fixes legal incidence on the recipient.\n- Tax rate: the tax base created and administered under the GST Act 1999 is taxed at 10% under this Act (section 4).\n- Cross-reference and administration: this short Act does not restate exemptions, input tax credit rules, registration thresholds, or administrative penalties — it relies on the GST Act 1999 for those detailed rules (section 3(3)). That means compliance, credits, and enforcement follow the framework in the GST Act 1999.\n- Constitutional carve-outs: amounts that are duties of customs or excise are outside this imposition (section 3(2)(b)); property belonging to States is not taxed by this Act (section 5), which limits where the GST can reach and reduces constitutional challenge risk on those points.\n\nCosts, incentives and trade-offs (mechanisms, not judgments)\n\n- Who pays: economically, the burden falls on recipients (consumers or businesses), although suppliers typically pass the tax on in prices. The Act makes the recipient the person on whom the tax is \"imposed\" (section 3).\n- Administrative burden: because the Act delegates definitions and administration to the GST Act 1999, businesses face the compliance requirements (registration, reporting, record-keeping, remittance) set out in that Act rather than in this short imposition Act (section 3(3)).\n- Behavioural effects and substitution: applying a 10% tax on taxable supplies affects relative prices between taxed and GST-free supplies; this creates incentives for buyers to substitute to GST-free supplies or for suppliers to reorganise transactions to attract different GST treatment (mechanical effect of a consumption tax).\n- Revenue vs dispersal: the law converts many small payments on taxable supplies into a general tax revenue stream collected under the GST framework. The Act itself sets incidence and rate; collection mechanics and revenue use are handled elsewhere.\n- Legal and implementation risk: because the Act is narrowly framed and cross-references the GST Act 1999 and the Constitution, most detailed disputes will turn on definitions and administrative rules in the GST Act 1999 or constitutional interpretation of duties and State property.\n\nOfficial purpose claim and how the Act implements it\n\n- The instrument declares it implements \"A New Tax System by imposing the tax payable under the GST law\" on recipients (section 3). Mechanically, it does that by (a) naming the tax and fixing its legal incidence on recipients (section 3), (b) setting the rate at 10% (section 4), and (c) excluding customs/excise duties and State property from this imposition (sections 3(2)(b) and 5).\n\nPractical note on reading the Act\n\n- This Act is short and sets incidence and rate. To understand who ultimately pays, what supplies are taxable, what credits are available, registration thresholds and enforcement, read it together with the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, because this Act adopts the key terms from that law (section 3(3))."},"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-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005","history":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005/history","analysis":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-imposition-recipients-general-act-2005/documents"}}