Taxpayer entitled to prompt GST refund, says Court
An exporter of mobile phone goods has been successful before the Federal Court in a case concerning GST refunds. The Federal Court ordered that the Commissioner comply with the GST and tax law and immediately pay the exporter the net amount notified in its GST returns for various tax periods covering January to May 2011. The ATO had alleged that the refunds claimed were unsubstantiated and were fraudulent. It refused to pay the amounts until an audit had concluded. However, the Court did not agree that in the circumstances the law allowed the withholding of a payment pending an investigation by the Commissioner. The Full Federal Court later also dismissed the Commissioner’s appeal against the decision.
