Publication Type

Blog Post

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

12-2018

Abstract

GST contract review—overviewTax lawyers are often asked to review a commercial contracts from a Goods Services Tax (“GST”) perspec-tive. This note focuses on contracts for the supply of services or goods, and not a contract for the sale and purchase of a business.Understanding the GST consequences of the contractThe contract that you are asked to review will usually contain a GST clause, but it is insufficient to look only at that clause. As further explained in Practice Note: How to review a commercial contract for GST purposes, you should also review the whole contract so that you can establish:• What is being supplied, i.e. the nature of the goods or services at the heart of the contract be-cause this can affect whether the supply is a standard-rated, a zero-rated or an exempt supply;• Who is making the supply, looking not only at the parties to the contract but also whether an-other person or persons may be required or permitted to make or receive a supply under the contract;• Where the supply is being made, in the technical GST sense, rather than the commercial sense (see further – Practice Note: GST place of supply rules—where is a supply made?);• When the supply is being made, again in the technical GST sense (see further – Practice Note: GST time of supply rules—when is a supply made?);• What the value of the consideration for the supply is, which is usually expressed in monetary terms but could also include obligations to do or supply something in return; and• Whether the supplies under the contract are being made between members of a GST Group (in which case GST considerations may be less important because supplies between GST group members are ignored for GST purposes)

Keywords

Tax, Tax Law

Discipline

Contracts | Tax Law

Research Areas

Corporate, Finance and Securities Law

Publisher

Columbia University, Center on Capitalism and Society, Paper No. 69

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