Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FRINGE BENEFITS TAX ASSESSMENT ACT 1986 - SECT 132

  (1)   An employer shall:

  (a)   keep records that record and explain all transactions and other acts engaged in by the employer or any other person that are relevant for the purpose of ascertaining the employer's liability under this Act; and

  (b)   retain those records, and any records given to the employer under paragraph   (2)(b), for a period of 5 years after the completion of the transactions or acts to which they relate.

Penalty:   30 penalty units.

Note:   There is an exemption from the requirements of this subsection in certain cases: see Part   XIA (Record keeping exemption).

  (2)   Where an associate of an employer provides, or arranges for the provision of, fringe benefits to, or to associates of, employees of the employer, the associate shall:

  (a)   keep records that record and explain all transactions and other acts engaged in by the associate or any other person in respect of the provision of those fringe benefits, being transactions or acts that are relevant for the purpose of ascertaining the employer's liability under this Act;

  (b)   give to the employer a copy of the records, so far as they relate to a year of tax, not later than 21 days after the end of that year of tax; and

  (c)   retain those records for a period of 5 years after the completion of the transactions or acts to which they relate.

Penalty:   30 penalty units.

  (3)   A person who is required by this section to keep records shall keep the records:

  (a)   in writing in the English language or so as to enable the records to be readily accessible and convertible into writing in the English language; and

  (b)   so as to enable the employer's liability under this Act to be readily ascertained.

Penalty:   30 penalty units.

  (4)   Nothing in this section shall be taken to require a person (in this subsection referred to as the record keeper ) to keep a record of information relating to a transaction or act engaged in by another person if:

  (a)   where the transaction or act was entered into or done under an arrangement to which the record keeper was a party:

  (i)   the record keeper made all reasonable efforts:

  (A)   to ascertain whether the transaction had been entered into or the act had been done; and

  (B)   to obtain the information; and

  (ii)   did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, the information; or

  (b)   in any other case--the record keeper did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, the information.

  (5)   Nothing in this section shall be taken to require a person to retain records where:

  (a)   the Commissioner has notified the person that retention of the records is not required; or

  (b)   the person is a company that has gone into liquidation and been finally dissolved.

  (6)   An offence under this section is an offence of strict liability.

Note 1:   For strict liability, see section   6.1 of the Criminal Code .

Note 2:   There is an administrative penalty if you do not keep or retain records as required by this section: see section   288 - 25 in Schedule   1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 .

Note 3:   See section   4AA of the Crimes Act 1914 for the current value of a penalty unit.