We have identified a significant number of GST refund fraud attempts.
The attempted fraud involves an individual:
- inventing a fake business
- lodging a fraudulent ABN application, and
- submitting fictitious BAS statements to attempt to gain a false GST refund.
The fraudulent activity has been circulating as online advertising and content, particularly on social media. We are working with digital platforms to shut down this advertising.
On this page
Reminders for the community
We are reminding the community that:
- The ATO does not offer loans. If you see someone advertising a way to get a loan from the ATO, it’s not legitimate.
- The ATO does not administer COVID disaster payments.
- If you are not operating a business, you do not need an ABN, and you don’t need to lodge a GST return.
- Backdating your business registration so you can apply for a refund will flag you as high risk in our systems.
- False declarations may impact eligibility for other government payments.
- We have the data matching ability to detect these patterns and stop the fraud.
If something seems too good to be true, seek independent advice from an adviser who has no connection to the arrangement before taking any action, or phone us.
What to do if you are involved
If you become involved in this arrangement, talk to us now. We’ll be able to support you with a range of self-help options. You may be able to correct it yourself, we may be able to assist you, or we may refer you to a trusted advisor like a tax agent to help you.
We are urging anyone already involved to come forward now on a voluntary basis rather than face tougher consequences later. We will be recouping the funds, and there will be a better outcome for you if you come to us first. You can phone us on 1300 130 017. Registering for an ABN and applying for GST refunds when you don’t own a business or are not eligible is fraud.
Correct it yourself
You may be able to correct this yourself. You will need to follow the steps in this order:
- Revise your activity statement
- Cancel your ABNExternal Link
- Cancel your GST registration
- Set up a payment arrangement
If you need assistance, phone us on 1300 130 017.
If you think your identity has been compromised
If you think you’ve become involved in this arrangement because your identity was compromised, phone us on 1800 467 033 as we will need to put additional controls on your account.
Tax fraud, evasion and crime is not victimless, it’s a serious offence that takes money away from the community and away from essential services like health and education.
We take all reports of tax crime seriously. If you have any information to share, you can make a tip off. Reports can be made anonymously.
For more information, read the media release.
Source: ATO
