ATO Revising Super Fund Lookup

The ATO is currently working on changes to the Super Fund Lookup website.  This website lists all regulated superannuation funds including SMSFs.

Currently the website provides the name of the fund, its ABN and date of registration.  This website is used to confirm the existence and status of superannuation funds.

The revision to the website is to identify SMSFs which, while registered with the ATO (ie elected to be regulated under the SIS Act and have applied for a Tax File Number and ABN), have yet to receive a compliance notice. 

It seems that a newly registered SMSF will have a “provisional” status until a notice of compliance is issued in respect of the new SMSF.  A notice of compliance is only issued after the SMSF has lodged its first Fund Annual Return.  Consequently, the notice may be issued up to 18 months after the establishment of the SMSF.

Additionally, the ATO will implement administrative process to try and identify new SMSFs which are likely to be used for illegal early release schemes and remove such SMSFs on the Super Fund Lookup website.

Finally, the ATO will encourage funds which receive requests to transfer benefits to SMSFs which have “provisional” status, to undertake more stringent proof of identity checks in respect of such transfers.

These changes are likely to occur in early 2010.

The ATO will continue to remove SMSFs from the Super Fund Lookup website which have been identified as being involved in early release schemes.  During 2008/09 financial year, the ATO removed more than 500 super funds from the website.