Time Limits on Amending and Claiming Credits on Business Activity Statements

The ATO has announced new Time Limits on Amending and Claiming Credits on Business Activity Statements

For tax periods starting on or after 1 July 2012, there is a four-year time limit to amend or revise your Business Activity Statement assessment. This is called the 'period of review'.

The period of review begins the day you lodge your Business Activity Statement. During this time, there is no limit to the number of amendments you can make.

However in most cases, once the period of review expires, you can’t make further amendments.

Unlike tax periods starting prior to 1 July 2012, there's no provision to extend the period of review by a Tax Agent notifying us of an entitlement to a refund.

This is why it's important to request an amendment during the period of review. If not, you may not get a refund.

Refreshed period of review:

When you amend an assessment during the period of review, the four-year period refreshes. This refreshed period applies only for the 'particular' (transaction) amended, not the whole assessment. It begins after the last amendment is made, to the particular. During the refreshed period, the particular may only be amended again once.

Claiming credits:

You also need to claim GST and fuel tax credits within four years of the due date of lodgement of the Business Activity Statement in which the credits could have first been claimed.

Generally, unclaimed entitlements to the credits cease after this period.