Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Act 2011 (93 of 2011)

Schedule 3A   Quarterly credits

Part 3   Modified Acts may provide for certain matters

5   Some matters the modified Acts may provide for

(1) As a result of the regulations, the collective operation of the relevant Acts may provide for any or all of the following matters:

(a) eligibility criteria for quarterly credits, including:

(i) matters relevant to working out when paragraph 3(2)(b) is satisfied; and

(ii) additional criteria to those mentioned in subitem 3(2);

(b) how applications for quarterly credits may be made, including that:

(i) applications must be in an approved form; and

(ii) applications may be varied;

(c) that Innovation Australia may make findings (the IA findings ) about the activities that relate to an application, or proposed application, for quarterly credits;

(d) how IA findings may be made, including that IA findings may be made on application in an approved form;

(e) fees relating to applications for quarterly credits or applications for IA findings, and a method for indexing the fees;

(f) how applications for quarterly credits or IA findings are considered (and approved or rejected);

(g) that applicants for quarterly credits or IA findings are notified of specified decisions or matters;

(h) that further information may be requested from applicants for quarterly credits or IA findings;

(i) deadlines for doing things in relation to quarterly credits or the making of IA findings;

(j) how amounts of quarterly credits are worked out;

(k) that each quarterly credit is a credit the R&D entity is entitled to under a taxation law for the purposes of Part IIB of the Taxation Administration Act 1953;

(l) that an R&D entity’s total credits for an income year become a debt due to the Commonwealth at a specified time after the end of the income year;

(m) that each of the following may be varied or revoked:

(i) an approval of an application for quarterly credits;

(ii) an IA finding;

(n) that internal review may be sought of specified decisions relating to quarterly credits or the making of IA findings;

(o) that review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal may be sought of internal review decisions relating to quarterly credits or the making of IA findings;

(p) integrity measures;

(q) that specified findings, decisions or requests made by Innovation Australia relating to quarterly credits are binding on the Commissioner (or vice versa);

(r) that Innovation Australia is authorised to disclose to the Commissioner (or vice versa) information relating to quarterly credits or the making of IA findings;

(s) matters of a transitional, application or saving nature;

(t) matters of a consequential, ancillary or incidental nature.

Note 1: Innovation Australia’s findings (see paragraph (c)) could be made before, during or after the consideration of an application for quarterly credits.

Note 2: Innovation Australia could make decisions on its own initiative or on application. For example, Innovation Australia could make a finding, or vary a finding or an approval, on its own initiative.

(2) Without limiting paragraph (1)(a), examples of additional eligibility criteria include the following:

(a) that it is reasonable to expect that the R&D entity will be in a net refund assessment position for the income year;

(b) that the R&D entity has been assessed as being entitled under section 355-100 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to a tax offset (whether a refundable tax offset or not) for an earlier income year.

(3) Fees referred to in paragraph (1)(e) must not be such as to amount to taxation.

(4) Without limiting paragraph (1)(p), examples of integrity measures include the following:

(a) if an R&D entity’s total credits for an income year exceeds the amount of the R&D entity’s entitlement to a refundable R&D tax offset for the income year - that the R&D entity may be liable to pay a penalty on the excess;

(b) if the approval of an R&D entity’s application for quarterly credits for an income year is revoked - that the R&D entity’s total credits for the income year become a debt due to the Commonwealth at a specified time.

(5) As a result of the regulations, the collective operation of the relevant Acts may provide that a disclosure referred to in paragraph (1)(r) may be made despite:

(a) subsection 47(1) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986; and

(b) sections 355-25, 355-155 and 355-265 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

(6) This item does not limit item 2.