ATO practice statement on SMSF penalties

ATO officers will consider various factors including voluntary disclosure, seriousness of a contravention and actions taken to rectify it, when deciding on remission of penalties imposed on self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees, under guidance in Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2020/3. 

The guidelines deal with administrative penalties imposed under s 166(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, which applies to contraventions by SMSF trustees occurring on or after 1 July 2014.

The guidance also sets out the process to be applied in administering the penalty, which includes determining if a penalty is imposed, who is liable to the penalty and a trustee’s appeal rights. 

The guidance includes examples to illustrate the ATO’s administrative approach to these penalties.