//
© 2026 Zoe. All rights reserved.
Zoe is a legal information platform. Always consult the official source for authoritative text.
Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act formally imposes a tax called "sales tax" by declaring that the tax payable under the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 is imposed (s3(1)). The Act itself does not set the detailed rules, rates, or procedures for the tax — those are in the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992, which this Act references (s3(1)).
The imposition is subject to two constitutional limits. First, the Act only imposes the sales tax to the extent that it is not a duty of customs or a duty of excise under section 55 of the Constitution (s3(2)). Second, the Act expressly does not impose a tax on property belonging to a State; the meaning of that exclusion is tied to section 114 of the Constitution (s4(1)–(2)).
The Act begins to operate 28 days after it received Royal Assent (s2). It may be cited as the Sales Tax Imposition (General) Act 1992 (s1).
Who pays and who decides (mechanically, as the Act sets it out)
Who pays: the persons or entities who are required to pay the tax as described in the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 — this Act imposes that tax but does not itself specify the taxpayer categories or calculation details (s3(1)).
Who decides how the tax operates day-to-day: the Assessment Act provides the substantive tax rules and any administrative mechanisms; this Imposition Act only creates the legal obligation to pay the tax as defined in that Assessment Act (s3(1)).
Want the full deep dive?
Zoe can write the in-depth analysis on top of the summary above: how it works, who it affects and what each part actually does.
Direct links to the current provisions in Sales Tax Imposition (General) Act 1992.
Zoe has indexed the source text for search and analysis. Use the official register for the original document and download formats.
View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Behavioural and administrative effects — what changes in practice
The immediate legal change is that the obligation to pay the sales tax (as defined elsewhere) is imposed from the commencement date (s2 and s3(1)). Affected taxpayers must comply with the Assessment Act’s requirements once the Imposition Act is in force.
Compliance burdens, administrative costs, and enforcement mechanisms are not set out in this short Act; those are matters for the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 and any relevant administrative practice (s3(1)).
Limits, trade-offs and implementation risks identified in the text
Constitutional limits create legal boundaries the tax cannot cross: the tax is limited so it is not treated as customs or excise (s3(2)), and it does not apply to State-owned property as defined in the Constitution (s4(1)–(2)). That means legal interpretation of those constitutional phrases can affect the tax’s practical scope.
The Act does not itself create discretion for administrators or detail compliance procedures; it relies on the Assessment Act for those matters (s3(1)). Any costs of administration or compliance fall on the taxpayers and the agencies administering the Assessment Act.
Summary of mechanism (simple chain)
Sources: Sales Tax Imposition (General) Act 1992, sections 1–4.