18Notification of company tax liability

##### 18 Notification of company tax liability (1) Where: (a) under the Assessment Act, the Commissioner is required or permitted to serve a notice of assessment on a company in relation to the liability of the company to pay ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax in relation to a year of income; and (b) vendors recoupment tax is payable, or the Commissioner is of the opinion that vendors recoupment tax is likely to become payable, by a person or persons in relation to ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax, as the case may be, that is payable or may become payable by the company in relation to that year of income; the notice shall, notwithstanding section 174 of the Assessment Act, be served on the company by being served on: (c) where the vendors recoupment tax is payable, or in the opinion of the Commissioner, is likely to become payable, by only one person—that person; and (d) in any other case—any of the persons referred to in paragraph (b); and, where the notice is served in accordance with paragraph (d), the Commissioner shall serve a copy of the notice on each person (other than the person on whom the notice was served) who is included in the representative class in relation to the vendors recoupment tax. (2) Where a notice of assessment and a copy or copies of the notice are served on persons under subsection (1) in relation to the liability of a company to pay ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax in relation to a year of income, the Commissioner shall notify each of the persons of the identity of each of the other persons. (3) Where a notice of assessment is served under subsection (1) in relation to the liability of a company to pay company tax in relation to a year of income: (a) if the notice was served under paragraph (1)(c)—the person on whom the notice was served; and (b) if the notice was served under paragraph (1)(d)—one person who: (i) is included in the representative class in relation to the recoupment tax referred to in paragraph (1)(b); and (ii) is nominated, by notice signed by more than one‑half of the persons included in that class and lodged with the Commissioner; has the same rights under section 175A of the Assessment Act and Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 in relation to that liability as the company has and, for the purpose of the exercise of those rights by the person, the provisions of that Division apply in like manner as those provisions would apply in relation to the exercise of those rights by the company. (4) Where: (a) under the Assessment Act, the Commissioner is required or permitted to serve a notice of assessment on a company in relation to the liability of the company to pay ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax in relation to a year of income; (b) promoters recoupment tax is payable, or the Commissioner is of the opinion that promoters recoupment tax is likely to become payable, by a person or persons in relation to ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax, as the case may be, that is payable or may become payable by the company in relation to that year of income; and (c) the notice is not required to be served in accordance with subsection (1); the notice shall, notwithstanding section 174 of the Assessment Act, be served on the company by being served on the person or any of the persons referred to in paragraph (b). (5) Where: (a) in a case to which subsection (1) did not apply, a notice of assessment in respect of the liability of a company to pay ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax in relation to a year of income has been served, or purported to have been served, on the company, whether before or after the commencement of this Act; and (b) the Commissioner is of the opinion that vendors recoupment tax is likely to become payable by a person or persons in relation to ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax, as the case may be, that is payable or may become payable by the company in relation to that year of income; the following provisions have effect: (c) the Commissioner shall serve a copy of the notice of assessment on: (i) where, in the opinion of the Commissioner, the vendors recoupment tax is likely to become payable by only one person—that person; and (ii) in any other case—any of the persons referred to in paragraph (b); (d) where the copy of the notice of assessment is served in accordance with subparagraph (c)(ii)—the Commissioner shall serve a copy of the copy of the notice of assessment on each person (other than the person on whom the copy of the notice of assessment was served) who is included in the representative class in relation to the vendors recoupment tax; and (e) if the notice of assessment was not validly served on the company, the service of the copy of the notice in accordance with paragraph (c) shall be deemed to be service on the company of the notice of assessment. (6) Subsection (5) does not apply in relation to a notice that has been served or purported to have been served on a company if the Commissioner has reason to believe that the service or purported service brought the contents of the notice to the attention of the person, or any of the persons, as the case may be, referred to in paragraph (5)(b). (7) Where a copy of a notice of assessment and a copy or copies of that copy are served on persons under subsection (5) in relation to the liability of a company to pay ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax in relation to a year of income, the Commissioner shall notify each of the persons of the identity of each of the other persons. (8) Where a copy of a notice of assessment is served under subsection (5) in relation to the liability of a company to pay company tax in relation to a year of income: (a) if the copy was served under subparagraph (5)(c)(i)—the person on whom the copy was served; and (b) if the copy was served under subparagraph (5)(c)(ii)—one person who: (i) is included in the representative class in relation to the recoupment tax referred to in paragraph (5)(b); and (ii) is nominated, by notice signed by more than one‑half of the persons included in that class; has the same rights under section 175A of the Assessment Act and Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 in relation to that liability as the company would have had if the notice of assessment had been served on the company on the date on which the copy of the notice was served under subsection (5) and, for the purpose of the exercise of those rights by the person, the provisions of that Division apply in like manner as those provisions would apply in relation to the exercise of those rights by the company. (9) Where: (a) in a case to which subsection (4) did not apply, a notice of assessment in respect of the liability of a company to pay ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax in relation to a year of income has been served or purported to have been served, on the company, whether before or after the commencement of this Act; (b) the Commissioner is of the opinion that promoters recoupment tax is likely to become payable by a person or persons in relation to the ordinary company tax or undistributed profits tax, as the case may be, that is payable or may become payable by the company in relation to that year of income; and (c) a copy of the notice is not required to be served in accordance with subsection (5); the Commissioner shall serve a copy of the notice of assessment on the person or on any of the persons referred to in paragraph (b) and, if the notice of assessment was not validly served on the company, the service of the copy of the notice shall be deemed to be service on the company of the notice of assessment. (10) For the purposes of this section, the following persons constitute the representative class in relation to vendors recoupment tax in relation to company tax payable by a company in relation to a year of income: (a) each person, not being a company, whose whereabouts is known to the Commissioner and in relation to whom the vendors recoupment tax is recoupment tax on a primary taxable amount; (b) each company (including a company in the capacity of trustee) that, in the opinion of the Commissioner, is carrying on business and in relation to which the recoupment tax is recoupment tax on a primary taxable amount; and (c) the other persons referred to in paragraph (1)(b) or (5)(b), as the case may be, or, if those persons exceed 5 in number, 5 of those persons selected by the Commissioner as appropriate representatives of those persons. (11) In this section: > ordinary company tax, in relation to a company, includes additional tax payable by the company under Part VII of the Assessment Act in relation to income tax referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of ordinary company tax in subsection 3(1). > undistributed profits tax, in relation to a company, includes additional tax payable by the company under Part VII of the Assessment Act in relation to additional tax referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of undistributed profits tax in subsection 3(1).