Insolvency Practitioners duty to notify State Revenue

UNDER the recently enacted Taxation Administration Act a "statutory administrator of a taxpayer’s assets" is under a duty to notify the Commissioner for State Revenue of their appointment within 14 days.

The relevant provision of the Act is section 64.

For the purposes of the act "statutory administrator of taxpayer’s assets" means:

A liquidator or a provisional liquidator of a company;

A receiver or a receiver and manager;

A trustee in bankruptcy; and

An agent for a mortgagee in possession being a person who is in possession or control of property for the purposes of enforcing a change.

The penalty for failing to notify the Commissioner is $5,000.

Given the potential for personal liability for such a penalty, it is important that insolvency practitioners remember to notify the Commissioner within 14 days of being appointed in one of the capacities listed above.

The act only requires written notice be provided, there is no proscribed form.

We recommend that insolvency practitioners consider updating any internal systems or checklists to include this new obligation.

The act should be available online at www.austlii.edu.au in the near future.

James Scovell, associate

9288 6933

Dean Hely, partner

9288 6772