Chapter 35 Electronic Lodgments National Core Accounting Publications

Chapter 35 Electronic Lodgments © National Core Accounting Publications 1

About the ELS The electronic lodgment service (ELS) is an electronic data exchange system that allows tax practitioners to transmit data to the ATO, and receive reports and electronic forms from the ATO The ELS allows participating agents to lodge their clients' tax returns and other tax forms with the ATO electronically © National Core Accounting Publications 2

About the ELS Advantages of ELS • immediate acknowledgment by the ATO of receipt of returns and notification of those not received • 24 hour/365 days a year access to the ATO • faster turnaround - 95% of original individual assessments will be processed within 14 days • access to a range of electronic reports from ATO business systems © National Core Accounting Publications 3

About the ELS • • • Advantages of ELS electronic lodgment of Business Activity Statements (BAS), Instalment Activity Statements (IAS) and Australian Business Number (ABN) applications reduction in paper usage accuracy - through edit checks within the tax software choice of software providers privacy © National Core Accounting Publications 4

ELS User types Transmitter A transmitter prepares client tax returns and then transmits them using the ELS registration number A transmitter can also transmit returns on behalf of preparer tax agents © National Core Accounting Publications 5

ELS User types Preparer A preparer prepares client returns which are then lodged by a transmitter tax agent who will use their own ELS password and ELS approval number A preparer does not have an ELS password © National Core Accounting Publications 6

ELS Transmission There are currently two transmission options available to tax agents §Dial IP - is a private network provided by Telstra This network has no connection to the internet and is only used for ELS access §Internet - allows the tax agent to connect to ELS via their internet service provider (ISP) © National Core Accounting Publications 7

ELS Software The ELS allows participating agents to lodge their clients' tax returns and other tax forms with the ATO electronically, via modem The ATO provides a list of commercially available software for use by tax agents, all of which have undergone self-testing for the transmission of data © National Core Accounting Publications 8

Electronic Lodgment A taxpayer must provide the tax agent with a written declaration before the agent transmits the return This declaration serves two purposes: §it authorises the tax agent to lodge the taxpayer's return electronically, and §records the taxpayer's agreement with the information intended for transmission to the ATO © National Core Accounting Publications 9