ATO releases new GST food and health product classification resources

New GST classification guides and resources are available on the ATO website to help you to work out if your product is taxable or GST-free.

The guides are available for the:

• Food and beverage industry
• Health industry

The guidance and resources include a range of tools to help you work out if GST applies to your products, such as a GST food and beverage search tool a detailed food list, the arrangements with barcode provider GS1 Australia and emerging GST issues for food, beverage and health products.

It is important to carry out regular GST status reviews of your products if you work in the food, beverage and health industries. This is because the product, the way it is marketed or the use by the public may change over time, changing its classification.

Review checklist

If you are a small to medium business (manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer) and undertake high-volume low-value transactions, GST classification errors can lead to significant under-reporting of GST.

By undertaking regular self-review of the GST classification of your products, processes and controls, you can ensure the GST classification decisions you make are correct.

Visit the ATO website to access the Self-review checklist for small to medium sized businesses.

If you are a small business food retailer with turnover of $2 million or less, you may choose to use GST simplified accounting methods (SAMs) to account for your GST instead. Speak to your local TaxAssist Accountant if you would like to find out more about this.

How we can help

TaxAssist Accountants can prepare your BAS Return and will try to ensure that you claim as much GST as possible.

Contact us today for a free consultation and we can explain more about our services and how we can help. Call us on 0403 184 157 or contact us here.

Last updated: 19th September 2024