InFocus June 2023 - Volume 32 Issue 4

• Fee indexation 2023
• ASIC has limited powers to waive late payment and late lodgement fees

• Audit relief doesn’t exempt the lodgement of financial reports for proprietary companies

• Coming soon – new transactions in the ASIC Regulatory Portal

• Registered Agents – do you need to update your details?
• Set your small business up for success

Fee indexation 2023

As of 1 July 2023, some ASIC fees may change based on an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Our fees for commonly lodged documents page was recently updated to compare the current fees against the new indexed fees.

For more information about fee indexation, visit our website.

ASIC has limited powers to waive late payment and late lodgement fees

Late fees can only be waived when the delay in payment is due to circumstances beyond the control of the company and its representatives.

We cannot waive fees due to claiming non-receipt of the annual review statement, illness without supporting documentation or claims of being away or overseas. 

It’s important to read the fee waivers webpage and only lodge an application if the criteria is met.

Avoid late fees by checking where your annual statement is issued
Companies nominate where the annual review statement is sent and how – electronically or by mail. Companies also nominate if they wish to have an agent to act on their behalf.

If you need to change where your annual statement is sent, visit our website.

Avoid late fees by checking when your annual statement is due
The annual statement is issued on the anniversary date of incorporation, and must be paid within two months. It’s important you or your clients are aware of the obligations in relation to the annual statement, including paying the annual review fee by the due date, and advising of changes to the company register within the prescribed period.

Read more on our website.

Audit relief doesn’t exempt the lodgement of financial reports for proprietary companies

If a large proprietary company applies for audit relief by lodging a Form 382 Notification of resolutions for audit relief - proprietary lodgement, the company is still legally required to lodge a financial report with ASIC.

If the financial report is not lodged with ASIC, the company may be issued with a non-compliance notification and ASIC may take further action by commencing court proceedings if the company continues to remain non-compliant.

To avoid late fees and compliance action being initiated, ensure impacted companies prepare and lodge the relevant financial reports via Form 388 Copy of financial statements and reports online when due – three months after the end of financial year for disclosing entities and managed investment schemes, or four months for all other companies required to lodge financial reports.

For more information on audit relief, visit our website.

Coming soon – new transactions in the ASIC Regulatory Portal

The ASIC Regulatory Portal is where our regulated community can access ASIC’s increasing suite of digital services.

We’re continuously working to modernise forms into the ASIC Regulatory Portal.

Expected early in the 2023-24 financial year, the following services will be available from the ASIC Regulatory Portal:

• Apply for ASIC consent to resign as an auditor of a public company (Legacy Form 342),
• Apply for early destruction of books (Legacy Form 574),
• Submit notification to rely on ASIC Corporations (Business Introduction Services) Instrument 2022/805, and
• Notify ASIC or apply to ASIC about company auditor appointments.

Once made available in the portal, these transactions will need to be lodged online.

If you don’t already use the portal for other transactions, you’ll need to register for portal access. Once you’ve registered and logged in, you can act for yourself or connect to other entities to act on their behalf.

You can register for portal access anytime.

Registered Agents – do you need to update your details?

As a Registered Agent it’s important that you keep your contact details up to date. If any of your details change, you must let us know within 14 days of the change. This includes:

• your postal address and/or physical business address
• responsible person and/or contact person
• your email address, and
• your contact phone number.

It’s particularly important that your email address is correct as we will use this to send any important correspondence about your agent registration. To update your details, you must submit a Form RA01 Notification to register change details of or cease as an agent.

For additional information on maintaining your Agent Registration refer to our website.

Set your small business up for success

With tax time around the corner, it’s a good time to start thinking about how to implement good business practices that you can take with you into the new financial year.

Businesses that operate well and meet their obligations usually have the same things in common – good cash flow management, good record keeping and the right digital tools to help run their business.

For more information and tips, the Australian Taxation Office can help.