Goods and Services Tax Warrant of Fitness

The shortfall penalties and use of money interest regimes came into effect in 1996. Since then it has been our experience that taxpayers who have Goods and Services Tax (GST) errors are incurring a significant penalty and interest exposure and, even where the Inland Revenue Department’s efforts to impose penalties are successfully rebutted, a significant amount of management and professional advisor time cost is incurred. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) addresses the penalty issue in every situation where there is a shortfall, and even in circumstances where errors result in GST being overpaid by the taxpayer, there is often difficulty in obtaining redress.

Our GST Warrant of Fitness (WOF) has been developed to minimise the likelihood of errors occurring and, while we cannot guarantee the absolute accuracy of every return filed, your organisation may benefit from the review by the identification of any inefficiencies in the GST system and by strengthening arguments that a reasonable standard of care has been adopted.

The WOF involves us meeting with key personnel to review the GST return preparation procedures. The extent of the review work can be specifically tailored to meet your organisation’s requirements and the exercise will provide an excellent opportunity to raise specific questions regarding GST.

If you would like us to undertake a GST WOF or if you wish to find out more, please contact us.

Auckland: David Dorrington - (09) 355 8301
Hamilton: Kelvin French - (07) 8387420
Napier: Giles Pearson - (06) 835 6144
New Plymouth: Pauline Lockett - (06) 757 5477
Wellington: Graham Archer - (04) 462 7271
Christchurch: Paul Lynskey - (03) 374 3010
Dunedin: Richard McKnight - (03) 477 8784