In our November 2016 Tax Update we discussed the difficulties caused for GST compliance where consideration is provided in non-monetary form.
The difficulties led the ATO to issue Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2016/18 GST and countertrade transactions. PCG 2016/18 is intended to relieve taxpayers from strict GST compliance for certain transactions where consideration is provided in a non-monetary form.
A matter that was initially unclear to us in PCG 2016/18 was whether transactions intended to be covered by it could effectively be ignored for Business Activity Statement reporting purposes.
The ATO has now confirmed that, whilst a taxpayer may opt to continue to report a countertrade transaction in Business Activities Statement (using the concessional approach provided by PCG 2016/18), where the terms of PCG 2016/18 are met it is not necessary for the transaction to be reported.