Assessment Proceedings
Representation across every form of assessment under the Goods and Services Tax, from provisional assessment through to best judgment and summary assessment orders.
Most liability under the Goods and Services Tax is self-assessed in the returns you file. The law then provides for provisional assessment where value or rate cannot be determined, best judgment assessment where returns are not filed despite a reminder, assessment of persons liable to register who have not registered, and summary assessment where revenue needs immediate protection. Each has its own forms, its own timelines, and its own route to withdrawal or appeal.
What our assessment service covers
Identifying which assessment you are facing, and the fastest lawful way out of it.
- Applying for provisional assessment and taking it through to finalisation
- Withdrawing best judgment assessment orders by filing the pending return within the permitted period
- Responding to assessment of persons liable to register but not registered
- Applying for withdrawal of summary assessment orders where the conditions are met
- Drafting submissions and appearing before the assessing authority
- Advising on appeal where the assessment order stands and the amounts are disputed
The forms of assessment you may face
Four distinct proceedings, often confused with one another.
Provisional Assessment
Available where you cannot determine the value or the rate applicable to a supply. Tax is paid provisionally against a bond and security, and finalised later.
Best Judgment Assessment
Where a return is not filed even after a reminder, the officer may assess the liability to the best of his judgment on the material available.
Unregistered Person Assessment
A person liable to register who has failed to do so can be assessed for the period of default, after being given an opportunity of being heard.
Summary Assessment
Permitted with prior approval where there is evidence of liability and delay would adversely affect revenue, and open to withdrawal on application.
Our process
From initial consultation to completion.
Order Review
Identifying the provision under which the order was passed, the period covered and the material relied on.
Ground Identification
Separating what can be cured by compliance from what has to be argued on merits.
Submission or Withdrawal
Filing the return, the withdrawal application or the written submissions, whichever route is open and quickest.
Appeal Route
Where the order survives, preparing the appeal within limitation and computing the pre-deposit.
Why timing decides most assessment outcomes
What sets our approach apart.
A best judgment order can be undone by filing the return
Where the pending return is filed with tax, interest and late fee within the period prescribed from service of the order, the assessment order is deemed withdrawn.
Provisional assessment carries a real cost
It requires a bond with security, and interest continues to run on the differential until the assessment is finalised.
Delay converts a fixable order into recovery
Once the appeal period lapses, an order that could have been withdrawn or set aside becomes an enforceable demand.
Assessment questions answered
What people ask before engaging us.
Assessment order passed for a period you never filed?
There may still be a window to have it withdrawn. Let us look at the dates today.
