ATO Departure Prohibition Order
What does it mean? What should you do?
The ATO has the power to stop a debtor from leaving the country (regardless of whether they intend to return or not) until such time as a debt is paid in full or suitable arrangements for payment of the debt are made.
This order would apply to a director who has been made personally liable for their company’s tax debt by way of a Directors Penalty Notice.
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This order would apply to a director who has been made personally liable for their company’s tax debt by way of a Directors Penalty Notice.
- there is a tax liability and whether it can be recovered;
- known assets are sufficient to pay existing and future tax liabilities and whether those assets are in a readily-realisable form;
- recovery proceedings have commenced;
- the debtor has recently disposed of assets to associated persons or entities (the transaction may be overturned in bankruptcy);
- there is any information to suggest concealment of assets (bank accounts in false names, use of an alias) or movement of funds (for example, AUSTRAC reports);
- the debtor has entered into transactions that ‘charged’ assets in Australia and then moved the borrowed funds offshore;
- the debtor has assets overseas adequate to maintain a comfortable lifestyle;
- funds have been transferred overseas (and the purpose of the transfer);
- the debtor has significant business interests in Australia;
- the debtor is subject to investigation for criminal activities (and whether any charges have been laid);
- there is a threat against the debtor’s life as a result of criminal or other activities;
- there is ATO audit activity (or similar activity from other Government agencies);
- the debtor holds (or the debtor has applied for) an Australian or foreign passport/visa/work permit;
- the debtor has given an indication of likely overseas travel, and there is no apparent need for travel;
- the debtor’s family situation (this information may not be relevant by itself, but when combined with a number of other factors, it may influence a decision to issue a DPO).
Related Topics
If the above advice has not answered your questions you might want to review the following pages and downloadable Information Sheets:
If you would like to learn more about Director Penalty Notice, please access our full Director Penalty Notice guide created by Dissolve’s specialists explaining this in detail.