CBA Settlement of Disputed Claims for Software R&D Activities

March 18th, 2019 australian dollar

CBA have announced to the ASX on 18 March that they have entered into a settlement in respect of a tax dispute regarding the eligibility of claims for software development R&D activities.

Below is an extract from the ASX announcement:

  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia has agreed to withdraw from all current proceedings with the ATO and Innovation and Science Australia (ISA) before the AAT in respect of the eligibility of R&D claims that were made for the years ended 30 June 2012 and 30 June 2013 relating to the CBA core banking modernisation project that involved digital transformation and software development;
  • The agreement does not results in material impacts to CBA’s current or future year financial results;
  • CBA will continue to work collaboratively with the ATO and ISA in relation to future registration of eligible R&D Activities;

The claim amount has not been disclosed in the announcement, however some media outlets have reported disputed R&D expenditure to be in the “nine figure range.”

Whilst very large claims for software development R&D activity will naturally attract scrutiny, the settlement is a timely reminder that software claims are often reviewed with respect to:

  • Ensuring compliance with the definition of Core and Supporting R&D activities;
  • Ensuring that only eligible Core and Supporting R&D Activities within a platform are claimed (not all software development activities within a platform);

Registrations of software development activities should take care to review the latest AusIndustry guidance released in February to ensure they are kept up to date with compliance expectations of the programme regulators.

Post a Comment

(*) indicates required field.

Categories

Archives

Swanson Reed - Specialist R&D Tax Advisors
Swanson Reed - Specialist R&D Tax Advisors
39 Google reviews
Daniel McGregor
Daniel McGregor
2022-08-11
I have been using Swanson Reed for my clients for more than a decade. Having a specialist firm that can provide practical and commercial advice that produces real outcomes is very important and we have received great feedback from our clients. Highly recommended.
John
John
2022-06-15
Damian and the rest of the team at Swanson Reed have been supporting us for several years. We always appreciate their insights, expertise, and efforts.
Rueben Rajasingam
Rueben Rajasingam
2022-06-06
Experienced responsive Team. They have been a great help to me and my company navigate the R&D tax claim process and have provided invaluable advice.
Enrique Esquivel
Enrique Esquivel
2022-06-06
Damian and the team at Swanson Reed have been extremely helpfully and professional during all of our consultations. Highly recommended.
Jess at Y&C
Jess at Y&C
2022-06-03
Anatole Kononewsky
Anatole Kononewsky
2022-06-02
The Swanson Reed team have provided our company with exceptional professional advice and assistance for all of our R&D claims for many years - have always achieved great results with excellent value for their services.
Payam Toloo
Payam Toloo
2022-06-02
Damian Smyth and his team are very helpful, supportive and experts in their field of R&D Tax claims. I'm always happy with the work they do and been a customer of their for over 5 years.
Melissa Doddy
Melissa Doddy
2022-05-31
The Team at Swanson Reed are very experienced R&D Tax Advisors and gave us ongoing support with all of our R&D Claims, the consultants ensured we were always working with current legislative guidelines, gave us assistance with compiling technical and government documentation and went out their way to ensure they were with us for the entire process from beginning to end. Highly recommended to anyone who needs assistance with working through what can at times be a daunting process.
Gary Watson
Gary Watson
2022-05-31
We can highly recommend Swanson and Reed as an R & D accountant. We have worked with them for several years now as they make our R & D claim so easy and communicate quickly with both us and our accountant.
Rob van den Bergh
Rob van den Bergh
2022-05-31
Always professional.