A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Attribution Rules – Supplies of Electricity Distribution Services) Determination 2026

Explanatory Statement

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Attribution Rules – Supplies of Electricity Distribution Services) Determination 2026

General outline of instrument

1.                   This instrument is made under subsection 29-25(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (the Act).
2.                   The instrument allows a supplier of electricity distribution services to attribute GST and adjustments on supplies it has made to the tax period in which it receives from its billing agent all the information that is necessary to ascertain the total amount it will receive for the supply. This applies in circumstances where a billing agent issues an invoice for the supply on behalf of the supplier.
3.                   The instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
4.                   Under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws) the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.

Date of effect

1.                   This instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
2.                   This instrument repeals and replaces the Goods and Services Tax:  Particular Attribution Rules Determination (No. 29) 2016 for Electricity Distribution Services which would otherwise sunset on 1 April 2026. The instrument has the same substantive effect as the one it is replacing.

Background

1.                   Division 29 of the Act sets out the basic attribution rules for attributing GST, input tax credits and adjustments to a tax period. There are also some attribution rules in Chapter 4 of the Act that affect the basic rules in Division 29 of the Act.
2.                   Under the basic attribution rules, a supplier that accounts on a non-cash basis and uses a billing agent to issue invoices to its customers for taxable supplies of electricity distribution services would need to attribute GST on that supply to the tax period in which any of the consideration for the supply is received or, if before any consideration is received, the tax period in which an invoice for the supply is issued.
3.                   Furthermore, under the basic attribution rules, the supplier would typically need to attribute any adjustments to the tax period in which it becomes aware of the adjustment.
4.               However, the application of the basic attribution rules would be inappropriate where the billing agent issues an invoice for a supply in a tax period but does not give the supplier all the information necessary to ascertain the total consideration for the supply or the amount of any adjustment until a later tax period. Without that information, the supplier will not be able to work out, and therefore attribute to a tax period, the GST payable on the supply and the amount of the adjustment (if any) relating to that supply.
5.               Section 29-25 of the Act allows the Commissioner to determine alternate tax periods to which GST, input tax credits and adjustments are attributable where it is necessary to prevent the basic attribution rules from applying in a way that is inappropriate in certain circumstances. These include circumstances under paragraph 29-25(2)(e) of the Act where a supply occurs before the supplier knows the total consideration for the supply.

Effect of this instrument

1.               This instrument alters some of the basic attribution rules in Division 29 of the Act for certain supplies of electricity distribution services made by a supplier to ensure that the GST payable and adjustments in relation to those supplies are attributable to the tax period in which the supplier can work out the total consideration or adjustments for those supplies.
2.               Under section 6 of the instrument, the GST payable by a supplier on a taxable supply of electricity distribution services is attributable to the tax period in which the supplier receives from the billing agent all the information necessary for the supplier to ascertain or work out the total consideration for the supply. However, this attribution rule only applies in circumstances where:

1.                the supplier does not account on a cash basis
2.                the billing agent issues an invoice for the supply, and
3.                 the supplier is unable to ascertain the total consideration for the supply in an earlier tax period, if some consideration relating to that supply is received or the billing agent issues an invoice relating to the supply in that earlier tax period.

1.               Under section 7 of the instrument, an adjustment relating to a taxable supply of electricity distribution services is attributable to the tax period in which the supplier receives from its billing agent all the information that it needs work out the amount of the adjustment. This section applies regardless of whether the supplier accounts on a cash basis or not.
2.               Electricity distribution services in the instrument means the delivery of electricity to end-use customers, along with the provision of related support services.
3.               Billing agent in the instrument means an entity that is authorised to issue invoices on behalf of a supplier of electricity distribution services but is not an associate of that supplier.

Compliance cost assessment

1.               Compliance cost impact:  Minor – There will be no additional regulatory impacts as the instrument is minor and machinery in nature (OIA25-10492).

Consultation

1.               Subsection 17(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 requires that the Commissioner is satisfied that appropriate and reasonably practicable consultation has been undertaken before they make a determination.
2.               Public consultation was undertaken for a period of 4 weeks commencing 31 October 2025 on drafts of this instrument and explanatory statement.
3.               The draft instrument and explanatory statement were published on the ATO Legal database and publicised on the databases ‘What’s new’ and the Open Consultation page on the ATO website. Major tax and superannuation publishers and associations commonly monitor these pages and usually include the detail in the daily and weekly alerts and newsletters to their subscribers and members.
4.               No feedback was received on the draft instrument and explanatory statement during the consultation period.

Statement of compatibility with human rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Attribution Rules – Supplies of Electricity Distribution Services) Determination 2026

This legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the legislative instrument

This legislative instrument alters some of the basic attribution rules in Division 29 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 for a supplier making a supply of electricity distribution services, where it uses a billing agent to issue invoices for those supplies.

Where a supplier uses a billing agent, they may have to rely on information provided by the billing agent in order to calculate the amount of GST payable or adjustment amount. This information may not be provided to the supplier in the same tax period in which the billing agent issues an invoice for the supply.

If the basic rules applied, the supplier may be required to attribute GST to a tax period before it is able to determine the total consideration for the supply, and therefore the correct amount of GST to attribute. The supplier may also be required to attribute an adjustment before knowing the amount of the adjustment.

The instrument will allow the supplier to attribute the GST payable or any adjustment relating to the supply to the tax period in which the total consideration for the supply or the amount of the adjustment can be ascertained using information provided by the billing agent.

Human rights implications

This legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms, as it merely changes the tax period in which an electricity distributor can attribute GST or adjustments to one that is more appropriate to the distributor’s circumstances.

Conclusion

This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.