GST held to apply to sales of subdivided lots

The Administrative Review Tribunal ('ART') recently held that some sales of subdivided farmland were subject to GST as they were made by the taxpayer in the course of carrying on an enterprise.

The taxpayer owned farmland near Adelaide. He entered into an agreement with a developer, under which the developer sought rezoning and development approvals, carried out development works, and marketed the subdivided lots.

The taxpayer progressively gave the developer access to the property as required and signed documents where necessary, including contracts for the sale of the subdivided lots. The taxpayer received 20% of the proceeds of sale progressively as sales of the subdivided lots were completed, with the developer receiving the remaining 80%.

The taxpayer argued that his role was passive, and that such rights as he had, and actions he took under the agreement with the developer, were of an administrative nature not amounting to a series of activities in the form of a business.

The ART disagreed, finding that the sales of the subdivided land were subject to GST as they were made in the course of carrying on an enterprise.

The ART noted that the taxpayer's activities "exhibited some of the well-known indicia of a business."

Amongst other factors, the taxpayer's activities in facilitating the implementation of the development agreement "had a degree of regularity and repetition", including allowing access to the land progressively as required, an ongoing obligation not to encumber or sell the land during the project, and the continuous signing of sales contracts and monitoring of sales returns.

Please note: Many of the comments in this publication are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information's applicability to their particular circumstances.