Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement

This practice will provide professional taxation services, which will be conducted in accordance with relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB), as well as other relevant income tax and GST legislation.

The extent of our services will be limited exclusively to providing consulting, advice and general information on matters of an Income Tax and/or GST nature only. Responses by this Practice will be provided directly to the client who requested our assistance. It is noted that each response is provided solely for the receipt and benefit of the client who raised the particular request for advice/information.

This Practice disclaims any assumption of responsibility to any person or entity for reliance on the taxation advice or general information provided by this Practice, other than to the client receiving their own specific advice/information. The taxation advice or general information provided shall not be inferred or used for any purpose other than for which it was specifically prepared. Accordingly, each piece of advice/general information may include a disclaimer to this effect.

Period of Engagement

This engagement will start upon acceptance of the terms of engagement by the client as outlined via the information on our website. We will not deal with earlier time periods and will only deal with periods specifically requested by the client and subsequently agreed to by this Practice.

Responsibilities

In conducting this engagement, information acquired by this Practice in the course of fulfilling the engagement is subject to strict confidentiality requirements. That information will not be disclosed by this Practice to other parties except as required or allowed for by law, or with the express consent of the relevant client.

We wish to draw all clients attention to our Practice's system of quality control which has been established and maintained in accordance with the relevant APESB standard. As a result, our files may be subject to review as part of the quality control review program conducted by CPA Australia, which monitors compliance with professional standards by its members. We advise all clients that by accepting an engagement with this Practice you acknowledge that, if requested, responses provided to some clients under this engagement may be made available for review under this program. Should this occur, we will advise you.

Any response given to a client may be a general interpretation of Taxation/GST laws or an opinion based on our knowledge of the client's particular circumstances. Responses are prepared based on information and facts as presented by each client to our Practice. The client remains responsible for the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the particulars and information provided to this Practice, upon which this Practice will provide the relevant advice and/or information to them.

In cases where a limited opinion may be given on how taxation or GST laws apply to a particular client's circumstances, it should be noted that any advice given is only an opinion based on our understanding of the client's particular circumstances, as provided by the client to this Practice.

The Provision of Taxation Services

A taxpayer is responsible under self assessment to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of a correct taxation return. Whilst the Commissioner of Taxation will accept claims made by a taxpayer in an income tax return and issue a notice of assessment (usually without adjustment), the return may be subject to later review. Under the taxation law such a review may take place within a period of up to 2 or 4 years (depending on the complexity of your tax affairs) after tax becomes due and payable under the assessment. Furthermore, where there is fraud or evasion there is no time limit on amending the assessment. Accordingly, all clients should check their own returns before they are signed to ensure that the information in the return is accurate.

Where the application of a taxation/GST law to a client's particular circumstances is uncertain, they have the right to request a private ruling which will set out the Commissioner's opinion about the way a taxation law applies, or would apply, to them in those circumstances.

The client must provide a description of all of the facts (with supporting documentation) that are relevant to their circumstances in the private ruling application. If there is any material difference between the facts set out in the ruling and what their actual circumstances are, then the private ruling is ineffective.

If the client relies on a private ruling they have received, the Commissioner must administer the law in the way set out in the ruling, unless it is found to be incorrect and applying the law correctly would lead to a better outcome for the client. Where the a client disagrees with the decision in the private ruling, or the Commissioner fails to issue such a ruling, they can lodge an objection against the ruling if it relates to income tax, fuel tax credit or fringe benefits tax. The time limits in lodging an objection will depend on whether the client was issued an assessment for the matter (or period) covered by the private ruling.

Involvement of Other Members in Public Practice

This Practice will endeavour to respond to all client enquiries of an Income Tax or GST nature. Often this Practice will not act in a full time capacity for a client and will only have a limited understanding of their overall taxation affairs. It may therefore be necessary sometimes for clients to seek further and more detailed information / advice from a professional taxation adviser who is more familiar with their overall affairs.

If certain taxation or GST matters are beyond the expertise of this Practice, the client will be notified at the time this Practice receives the particular request for advice/information. In this case, the client may need to seek advice from other professional taxation advisers who have the required expertise. Alternatively, this Practice may seek the client's written permission to consult other professional advisers who have the required expertise.

Fees

Fees will be based on the nature and complexity of the request for advice/information and will be charged at professional rates as determined by this Practice. This Practice reserves the right to review these rates at any time.

Clients will be provided with a written quote in respect of all requests for advice/information. Upon acceptance of the quote, payment is generally expected prior to the advice/information being provided to the client. The Practice may accept payment after providing the advice/information to some clients, but solely at the discretion of this Practice. Tax Invoices will be provided to the client at the same time that the advice/information is forwarded to them.

Limitation of Liability

Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Councils' website: http://www.professionalstandardscouncil.gov.au.

Ownership of Documents

Any original documents obtained from clients arising from an engagement shall remain the property of the client. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of original documents for our own records.

Our engagement will result in the production of pieces of advice or general information on income tax and GST matters, which will be supplied solely for the benefit of the client who raised the particular query. The response produced (and any intellectual property attached to it) will remain the property of this Practice and is not to be made widely available or distributed to any other third party without the express written permission of this Practice.

This Practice has a policy of exploring a legal right of lien over any client documents in our possession in the event of a dispute. The Practice has also established dispute resolution processes.

Confirmation of Terms

Acceptance of our services in conjunction with the information on this website indicates that you understand and accept the terms of our arrangements and services. This will remain effective unless we advise you of any change.