- The Taxpayer claimed involvement in freight-forwarding and acting as an agent for overseas customers.
- The activity was small with few transactions and insufficient invoices as evidence.
- The Taxpayer was GST registered on a payments basis, returning zero-rated sales and claiming input tax deductions.
- Customer and Compliance Services questioned the input tax deductions and the existence of a taxable activity.
- The dispute involved whether the Taxpayer could charge GST at 0% and claim input tax deductions.
- The Tax Counsel Office decided the Taxpayer was not entitled to charge GST at 0% or claim input tax deductions.
- The Taxpayer was not carrying on a taxable activity under section 6.
- The Taxpayer was liable for shortfall penalties due to gross carelessness.
- The onus of proof is on the taxpayer to show an assessment is wrong.
- The standard of proof required is the balance of probabilities.
- The Taxpayer did not provide sufficient evidence to prove carrying on a taxable activity.
Source: taxtechnical.ird.govt.nz
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
