Goods and Services Tax Act 1985

Special cases

56: Branches and divisions

You could also call this:

"Registering separate parts of your business for tax"

Illustration for Goods and Services Tax Act 1985

If you have a business with different branches or divisions, you can ask the Commissioner to register each one separately for tax purposes. The Commissioner will agree to this if each branch or division has its own accounting system and can be easily identified by what it does or where it is. When a branch or division is registered separately, it is treated as a separate business for tax purposes.

You can ask the Commissioner to cancel a separate registration for a branch or division at any time. The Commissioner will cancel the registration from the last day of the tax period when you made the request. After that, the branch or division will be treated as part of your main business again for tax purposes.

If your main business registration is cancelled, all separate registrations for branches or divisions will also be cancelled. If a separately registered branch or division does not do what it is supposed to do under the tax law, you will be responsible for fixing the problem. There are some special rules in sections 15 to 15E, 19, and 19A that apply to your whole business, including all separately registered branches or divisions.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM84888.

Topics:

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55B: Supplier group and issuing member, or

"Choosing a leader to handle GST information for a group of people or businesses"

56B: Branches and divisions in relation to certain imported goods and services, or

"Tax rules for New Zealand businesses with branches in and out of the country"

Part 9Special cases

56Branches and divisions

Where a taxable activity is carried on by any registered person in branches or divisions, that registered person may apply to the Commissioner for any such branch or division to be registered as a separate registered person for the purposes of this Act.
The Commissioner shall, upon application made pursuant to subsection (1), register any branch or division as a separate registered person if each such branch or division maintains an independent system of accounting and can be separately identified by reference to the nature of the activities carried on or the location of the branch or division, and where any such branch or division is so separately registered, any taxable activity carried on by that branch or division shall, to that extent, be deemed not to be carried on by the registered person first mentioned in subsection (1).
The registered person first mentioned in subsection (1) may, at any time, apply to the Commissioner for any branch or division separately registered under subsection (2) to cease to be so registered, and the Commissioner shall cancel that separate registration with effect from the last day of the taxable period of the branch or division during which that application was made, and any taxable activity carried on by that branch or division shall thereafter, to that extent, be deemed to be carried on by the registered person first mentioned in subsection (1).
The Commissioner shall cancel the separate registration of any branch or division on the cancellation of the registration of the registered person first mentioned in subsection (1).
Where any branch or division separately registered pursuant to this section makes default in doing anything required to be done under this Act, the liability for the doing of that thing shall revert to the registered person first mentioned in subsection (1).
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, for the purposes of sections 15 to 15E, 19, and 19A this section shall be deemed not to have applied, and any placement or direction made pursuant to the said sections 15 to 15E, 19, and 19A in respect of the registered person first mentioned in subsection (1) shall, for the purposes of this Act, apply equally to each branch or division separately registered pursuant to this section.

Notes

Section 56(1): amended, on 2 June 2016, by section 196(1) of the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Act 2016 (2016 No 27).
Section 56(3): amended, on 2 June 2016, by section 196(2) of the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Act 2016 (2016 No 27).
Section 56(6): amended, on 1 October 2007, by section 296(1) of the Taxation (Depreciation, Payment Dates Alignment, FBT, and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 (2006 No 3).
Section 56(6): amended, on 1 April 1991, by section 5(8) of the Goods and Services Tax Amendment Act 1991 (1991 No 11).
Section 56(6): amended (with effect on 17 March 1988), on 24 March 1988, by section 2(7)(b) of the Goods and Services Tax Amendment Act (No 2) 1988 (1988 No 15).