Australia: Reporting exemption for specified transactions for electronic distribution platform operators

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has registered a legislative instrument that exempts electronic distribution platform (EDP) operators from having to include specified classes of transactions in their reporting under the sharing economy reporting regime (SERR).

The Taxation Administration (Reporting Exemptions for Electronic Distribution Platform Operators) Determination 2024, provides an exemption in circumstances when a supply is made through more than one EDP.

The instrument exempts the operator of an EDP (the first platform) from having to report a transaction made through that EDP to the ATO for reporting periods starting on or after 1 July 2024 when the:

• Supply is also made through at least one other EDP
• First platform does not itself provide any consideration it receives in relation to the supply directly to the supplier
• Operator of another EDP provides all or part of the consideration given by the recipient of the supply to the supplier and has a reporting obligation under the SERR

According to its explanatory statement, the instrument intends to reduce the compliance costs imposed on operators of EDPs by exempting transactions that the Commissioner of Taxation considers to be a low risk to the broader taxation revenue base, or certain transactions that are reported to the ATO by other EDP operators.

This instrument also repeals the Taxation Administration (Reporting Exemptions for Electronic Distribution Platform Operators – Relevant Accommodation and Taxi Travel) Determination 2023 from 1 July 2024, and while the exemptions provided in that determination have been generally replicated in this instrument, it also contains new, additional exemptions that cover certain types of suppliers and transactions.