A company tax agent lodged 96 returns and statements when it did not have any supervising registered tax agent individuals.

The company had declared in its 2019 annual declaration that its director was the registered individual providing services on behalf of the company. However, the director was no longer registered at the time as he had failed to renew his registration. 

The company failed to respond to our enquiries. There was no evidence that another supervising agent had been appointed by the company. The company therefore failed to meet the registration requirement of having a sufficient number of individuals to carry out supervisory arrangements and ensure tax agent services were provided competently.

It was also found that the company did not comply with its personal tax obligations as its associated trust had failed to:

• lodge its 2018 and 2019 income tax returns when due

• lodge its annual GST returns for 2017 and 2019 years when due

• pay its tax debts on time.

The Board Conduct Committee (BCC) determined that the company breached the Code of Professional Conduct by:

• failing to respond to our enquiries regarding its supervising agents

• knowingly making a false claim in its annual declaration 

• failing to comply with tax laws in its personal affairs.

On the basis of the above findings, the BCC terminated the company’s registration as a tax agent.