The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has welcomed 3 recent decisions of the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) refusing to stay sanctions against disqualified tax agents.
In each of these 3 cases, the TPB took action to protect the public with bans on seeking re-registration of up to 4 years.
In considering these ongoing appeals, the ART declined to stay or suspend the sanctions imposed by the TPB, having regard to the seriousness of the misconduct and the need to uphold professional standards.
These 3 ART decisions related to:
- Mr Shonek Raj Diwakar and 2 associated company tax agents, SNS Diwakar Pty Ltd and Tax on the Beach Pty Ltd of Ingleburn in Sydney (decided on 27 December 2024)
- Mr Constantine Kambourakis of Marrickville in Sydney (decided on 3 January 2025)
- Mr Ruaidhri Carslake and Can Do Accounting Services Pty Ltd of Mission Beach in Queensland (decided on 9 January 2025)
All 3 cases included tax agents misconduct by making false and misleading statements, in breach of honesty and integrity obligations.
Mr Diwakar, who was found to not be fit and proper, and his tax agent related entities, SNS Diwakar Pty Ltd and Tax on the Beach Pty Ltd, were found to have failed to comply with tax obligations, did not have appropriate professional indemnity insurance coverage and had provide false information to investigators.
Mr Kambourakis’ case similarly involved breaches in tax compliance and the making of false statements in his continuing professional education log regarding his compliance with the professional development obligations.
In the third case, the TPB terminated Can Do Accounting Services’ registration due to Code breaches and found the director, Ruaidhri Carslake, was not a fit and proper person. The breaches included false declaration and inadequate supervision and control over the tax services provided to clients.
The TPB Chair, Peter de Cure AM, welcomed these stay decisions of the ART and said, 'These cases recognise the public interest in all tax practitioners acting with honesty, in supporting their clients, preserving professional and ethical standards, and in building community confidence in the integrity of the tax system.’
Mr de Cure went on to say, ‘The TPB will take a firm approach in addressing serious misconduct that undermines public confidence and brings disrepute to the tax system and the profession. This is reinforced by the obligations under the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 (Determination).’
The TPB has recently released finalised guidance on the obligations arising from the Determination.
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