Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Act 2020

SECTION 19   CONTRIVED SCHEMES  

19(1)    
If the Commissioner is satisfied that:

(a) one or more entities (a participant ) entered into or carried out a scheme (within the meaning of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 ); and

(b) it would be concluded (having regard to the matters in subsection (3)) that any of the participants entered into or carried out the scheme, or any part of the scheme, for the sole or dominant purpose of achieving either of the following:

(i) making an entity (the recipient ) entitled to a Coronavirus economic response payment in respect of a period;

(ii) increasing the amount of the Coronavirus economic response payment to which an entity (also the recipient ) is entitled for the period;

(whether or not any of the participants is the recipient and whether or not any of them carried out the scheme or any part of the scheme); and

(c) the scheme or part of the scheme has achieved, or apart from this section would achieve, that purpose;

then the Commissioner may determine that this Act has, and is taken always to have had, effect as if:

(d) the recipient never became entitled to the payment; or

(e) the amount of the payment was always the amount specified by the Commissioner in the determination.

19(2)    
A determination under subsection (1) has effect accordingly.

19(3)    
For the purposes of subsection (1), the matters are as follows:

(a) the manner in which the scheme was entered into or carried out;

(b) the form and substance of the scheme;

(c) the time at which the scheme was entered into and the length of the period during which the scheme was carried out;

(d) the result in relation to the operation of this Act that, but for this section, would be achieved by the scheme;

(e) any change in the financial position of the recipient that has resulted, will result, or may reasonably be expected to result, from the scheme;

(f) any change in the financial position of any entity that has, or has had, any connection (whether of a business, family or other nature) with the recipient, being a change that has resulted, will result or may reasonably be expected to result, from the scheme;

(g) any other consequence for the recipient, or for any person referred to in paragraph (f), of the scheme having been entered into or carried out;

(h) the nature of any connection (whether of a business, family or other nature) between the recipient and any person referred to in paragraph (f).

19(4)    
This section applies whether or not the scheme has been or is entered into or carried out in Australia or outside Australia, or partly in Australia and partly outside Australia.

19(5)    
A determination under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.