The Payment Times Reporting Scheme (PTRS) is now operational with first reporting lodgements due 30 September 2021. Under the Scheme, businesses are required to submit a report on their payment terms and practices every six months of their income year.
Are you aware of non-compliance penalties should you fail to report?
Businesses who fail to report need to be ready for potential non-compliance penalties. Higher penalties apply to corporations, with individuals facing lower penalties. An entity may be caught for non-compliance if it:
- Carries on business in Australia
- Earns more than $100m in total annual income
- Belongs to a controlling corporation group that earns more than $100m combined in total annual income
- Earns more than $10m in total annual income if part of a controlling group, or is the head entity of the controlling group.
If your entity ticks any of the above boxes then consider if this Scheme applies to you and act immediately. Our BDO advisers are happy to assist with confirming what entities, if any, are caught by the Scheme.
Get reporting ready
Once you’ve determined that the Scheme indeed applies to your entity, it’s vital to get prepared for 30 September 2021 reporting deadlines. To assist in preparation, BDO has prepared the below PTRS reporting checklist for your consideration.
- Register on the portal using your MyGov ID (note - you may need the MyGov ID principal authority to grant myGov ID access)
- Obtain all supplier ABNs from your accounting system and upload these to the Small Business Identification (SBI) tool to determine who the small business suppliers are that you need to report on (this can only be accessed after registering)
- Review what your payment terms are for small business
- Review your small business payment terms policies, if any, to determine if the policy agrees with standard practice
- Determine what information is required to be reported by reviewing the template instructions obtained at https://paymenttimes.industry.gov.au/
- Review your current accounting system to determine if you can access everything required
- Consider your current resources available to gather the information
- Advise your principal governing body (the Board or equivalent) on PTRS and what is required
- Organise for a ‘responsible member’ of the principal governing body (such as a Director) to be available to approve the PTRS Report before lodgement and complete the applicable declaration
- Consider any public perception issues that may result once the PTRS report becomes public after lodgement, in particular, if your actual small business payment days are more than the standard payment terms under the small business supplier contracts or accepted terms
- Speak with your current BDO adviser for guidance and assistance on any of the above PTRS areas
Time is running out before the first lodgement due date of 30 September 2021. We encourage you to review your current group structure and talk with your adviser as soon as possible.