The government on Thursday issued draft regulations which remake the operation of the Superannuation Auditor Registration Imposition Regulations 2012.
These regulations prescribe fees that are payable to ASIC by SMSF auditors for services provided by ASIC including registration as an approved SMSF auditor, undertaking a competency examination and cancelling an SMSF auditor registration.
The draft regulations significantly reduce the fee for applying for registration as an approved SMSF auditor to be cancelled from the current $899 fee down to $193.
It also slightly reduces the fee for applying for conditions imposed on a registration to be varied or revoked under section 128D of the SIS Act.
However, the regulations slightly increase the fee for registering as an approved SMSF auditor up to $2,191. The current fee is $1,927.
The draft regulations are currently open for consultation. The regulations will commence on the day after registration.
The exit fee for SMSF auditor registrations has been a significant gripe for the industry since its introduction, with the accounting bodies and SMSF Association all calling for its removal.
In a pre-budget submission earlier this year, the SMSF Association stated that the fee was a barrier to exiting the sector.
“Someone who is seeking to cancel their registration and exit the sector should be encouraged to do so and not encouraged to maintain their registration due to the cost,” the submission stated.
It also noted there was a significant disparity in the fees for individuals registered as company auditors versus those registered as SMSF auditors.
“We recommend that the cancellation fee that applies for approved SMSF auditors is removed, providing a clear pathway for individuals seeking to exit the sector. This should be implemented as a priority,” it stated.
Smarter SMSF chief executive Aaron Dunn previously stated that the exorbitant deregistration fee for SMSF auditors is leading some auditors to decide to simply stop lodging their annual statements in order to be removed from the system automatically, rather than pay the $899 fee.
“There are auditors who have thought, ‘well, I don’t see the need to pay. I can just not lodge and then I’ll be booted out of the system because I no longer have any interest being an SMSF auditor’,” Mr Dunn noted.
Good common sense re the reduced exit fee . The fee for new registration is excessive and may prevent younger practitioners from applying for registration . SMSF auditors are an ageing group and numbers are dwindling . Surely it doesn’t cost ASIC $2000+ to assess new applicants .