For a bookkeeper to complete your business BAS or PAYG Installment statement, it is now law to be registered with the Tax Practitioner’s Board. Several of our staff and contractors are Registered BAS Agents.
From 1 March 2010, an individual or entity providing BAS services for a fee or other reward is required to register with the new Tax Practitioners Board as a BAS Agent under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 in order to provide those services.
- Download the Tax Practitioners Board BAS Service Information Sheet.
- Melbourne-based User group has a great Frequently Asked Questions article see – Important Information for All Business Owners and Directors.
A BAS Agent is issued a licence that says they can:
Advise a client, provide certainty to a client or represent that client to the tax office in relation to:
- All GST matters
- All Wine Tax, Fuel Tax, Luxury Car Tax matters
- Payment of FBT
- All aspects of Payroll that relate to the withholding of tax amounts and the reporting of that amount to the employee and the Tax office
- All aspects of other PAYG Withholding amounts: ie no ABN, Interest & Dividend
- All aspects of the payment of income tax via PAYG Installments
A Tax Agent can also do these and then other areas of tax also.
What does this mean?
A registered Agent may:
- Design and set up compliance systems
- Advise the client on how the above areas of law effect them
- Review a client’s operations in relation to these areas of law and provide certainty to that client that they are getting it right.
These tasks cannot be done by a bookkeeper who is not a registered Agent.
What can a Bookkeeper do, who is not a BAS Agent?
- They can follow systems designed by others
- They can process
- They can reconcile and produce results but not if the client is relying on those, without further action to be certain that they are meeting their obligations
- They should raise questions and not answer them
A BAS Agent can be a business with one or more qualified persons (registered BAS Agent/s) and others working, performing BAS Services, being supervised and controlled by the qualified person. This is legal!
The ATO website for BAS Agents http://www.ato.gov.au/taxprofessionals/pathway.aspx?sid=42&pc=001/005/074&mfp=001/005&mnu=49352#001_005_074
For the latest BAS Agent information updates, regular updates can be found at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers website http://www.icb.org.au/BAS%20Agent
