ATO Interpretative Decisions and other sources of ATO Advice:

The ATO provides various forms of advice to the general public and to particular entities in an effort to disseminate the Commissioner’s views on, and the interpretation of, the tax laws administered by the Commissioner. These consist of public rulings (including class rulings and product rulings), private rulings, administratively binding advice, written general advice, GST written advice, oral rulings, interpretative decisions, practice statements, taxpayer alerts, and other publications (such as fact sheets and guides). Depending on the form of ATO advice, various levels of protection against primary liability, penalties and interest are afforded to those relying on the advice.  An experienced Taxation Lawyer may be able to comprehensively consider all relevant sources of law to include secondary sources and to provide you with detailed advice upon how your financial situation may be affected by the complex web of taxation law. In this manner it is possible to predict and plan for how your situation will be treated by the ATO.

ATO Interpretative Decisions (ATOIDs) indicate the Commissioner’s view on the interpretation of the law on particular issues. They are produced to assist ATO officers to apply the law consistently and accurately to particular factual situations. However, ATOIDs are not published as a form of ATO advice and, therefore, cannot be relied on; taxpayers who apply an ATOID in good faith but the ATOID is later found to be incorrect will be liable for underpaid tax, not penalty or interest.

Law Administration Practice Statements (PS LA series) provide direction to ATO staff on the approaches to be taken in performing their duties. They are not used to provide interpretative advice and do not convey extra statutory concessions to taxpayers.

Taxpayer Alerts (TA series) operate as an early warning to taxpayers of significant new and emerging tax planning issues or arrangements that the ATO has under risk assessment. Taxpayer Alerts give the title of the issue (which may be a scheme, arrangement or particular transaction), briefly describe it and highlight those features which the ATO considers as taxation problems.

All GST written advice given or published by the ATO is binding. In addition to formal rulings and determinations, this includes fact sheets, information booklets, advice manuals, bulletins and product rulings, but does not include GST Practice Statements and GST Case Decision Summaries which have been now replaced by interpretative decisions.

It is advisable that you seek skilled legal and financial advice from an experienced Taxation Lawyer to ensure that you understand and are made aware of the taxation treatment of your financial situation. To book a consultation, please telephone our firm on (02) 9233 4048 or send an email to info@navado.com.au. 

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.