XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Compliance
Overview
The "GST Incorrectly Entered on ASIC Transaction" XBert finds bills to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) that have GST added when they should not. ASIC fees, such as annual review and late lodgement fees, are not subject to GST, so claiming GST on them can lead to an incorrect Business Activity Statement (BAS) and an over-claim of GST credits.
What it does
This XBert scans your bills and matches the supplier against ASIC's official Australian Business Number (ABN). When it finds an ASIC bill that has a GST amount recorded against it, it raises an alert so you can fix the tax treatment before it flows through to your BAS.
How it works
During each sync, XBert finds any supplier in your ledger that matches ASIC by its registered ABN, allowing for minor differences in how the name is spelled. It then checks the bills recorded against that supplier.
An alert is raised when:
The bill is to ASIC, and
A GST amount greater than zero has been applied to it, and
The bill is dated after 1 January 2021.
To avoid unnecessary alerts, XBert ignores bills that have been voided or deleted, because these no longer represent a real charge. Bills still in draft or awaiting approval are included, so you are warned about the GST error before the bill is finalised or paid.
Example/Use Case
Priya enters ASIC's $321 annual review fee as a bill in her accounting software. By habit she leaves the tax setting as "GST on Expenses", so $29.18 of GST is recorded against the bill. Because ASIC fees are not subject to GST, Priya would be claiming GST credits she is not entitled to. XBert flags the bill, Priya changes the tax setting to GST Free, and her next BAS is correct.
Accounting software
This XBert runs on Xero and MYOB.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This alert falls under the Compliance business area and helps ensure GST is not claimed where it should not be. To resolve it:
Open the flagged ASIC bill and change the tax treatment so that no GST is applied (for example, set the tax rate to GST Free or BAS Excluded).
If the bill has already been paid or included in a lodged BAS, adjust it so the incorrectly claimed GST is corrected, and check whether a BAS amendment is needed.
Going forward, enter ASIC fees using a GST Free or equivalent non-taxable tax rate.
Once the bill has been corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.