Issue
Does section 21 of the Products Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000 (PGBAA) permit an entity to request an amended assessment of their energy grant entitlements where the entity has previously claimed on-road credits and now seeks to claim off-road credits for the same claim period?
Decision
Yes. Section 21 of the PGBAA permits an entity to request an amended assessment of their energy grant entitlements where the entity has previously claimed on-road credits and now seeks to claim off-road credits for the same claim period.
Facts
An entity purchased on-road diesel fuel for an activity that qualifies for an entitlement to an on-road credit (and therefore an energy grant) under the Energy Grants (Credit) Scheme Act 2003 (EGCSA).
The entity made a claim for the energy grant on a claim form pursuant to section 15 of the PGBAA and the grant was paid. An assessment was made in respect of the amount to which the entity was entitled for the claim period.
Subsequently, the entity realised that they also had an entitlement to an off-road credit under the EGCSA for the same claim period.
Reasons for Decision
Section 8 of the PGBAA provides that grants paid under the EGCSA are covered by the PGBAA.
Subsection 17(2) of the PGBAA provides that the Commissioner must make an assessment of the amount of the grant or benefit to which an entity is entitled in respect of a claim period.
Section 21 of the PGBAA deals with amended assessments, and provides that amended assessment may be made.
Therefore, assessments issued under the PGBAA are properly regarded as being assessments of the amount of grant or benefit to which an entity is entitled for a claim period rather than for an amount of fuel.
Subsection 56(1) of the EGCSA provides that if an entity is entitled to an off-road credit or on-road credit, it is entitled to an energy grant. Hence, the term 'energy grants' encompasses both on-road credits and off-road credits. It follows that an assessment of energy grants for a particular claim period may cover both on-road credits and off-road credits to which an entity is entitled.
Therefore, section 21 of the PGBAA enables an entity to request an amended assessment where they previously omitted a particular fuel purchase from their original claim form where they are seeking to claim a further amount in respect of the same type of grant or benefit to which the assessment relates. In this instance, the assessment relates to energy grants and the entity is seeking to claim an energy grant in respect of a fuel purchase that was previously omitted from their claim form.
In this instance, the entity has made a claim for an energy grant for a particular claim period and an assessment has been made. The assessment is not reflective of all of the entity's energy grant entitlements for the period. As the assessment does not reflect all of their energy grant entitlements for the period, they may seek an amendment.
Subsection 21(2) of the PGBAA provides that the Commissioner must comply with a request for an amended assessment provided the request is made within two years after the end of the claim period of the original claim or such further period as the Commissioner allows.