Our business hasn't traded since the end of FY23/24. We thought our accountants had tidied it up for us when they moved us to a different structure. But I have picked up on some mail now that shows the ATO is chasing us for un-lodged statements. We got our accountant to tidy things up - they canceled things with ASIC but have no access to ATO for this business. They suggested we call the ATO to sort it out i.e. the ABN has been not trading for over a year. But I can't get through to the ATO (the voice message pretty much says "we're too busy, try another time"). But the 'red letters' I am now getting in the mail say - get in contact to avoid penalties and further action. I have tried calling multiple times on multiple days. I started looking at forums too and see others cannot get through at all. This seems crazy. Not sure if anyone else knows what to do? I found some other forum posts similar but the ATO response in the threads said, if you want to back date cancellation, call us... We want to know how to prove or show we have not traded since the end of FY 23/24.
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You can use Online services for business to send us a secure message explaining your situation. Select a relevant topic like 'ABN cancellation' and outline that your business ceased trading at the end of FY23/24.
To support your case, keep records that show there's been no trading activity since then. These could include:
- bank statements showing no business transactions
- financial statements with nil activity
- any other documentation proving cessation of business operations.
You don't need to send these records unless we ask, but keep them available. You can also cancel your ABN through the Australian Business Register once all your tax obligations are met.
During peak periods, we do receive more calls than usual, which results in longer wait times. We may also block calls when volumes significantly exceed our capacity to minimise excessive queuing times.
If your business was a company that has now been deregistered your ABN will be cancelled by us. You can't lodge any outstanding documents or resolve any outstanding issues for a deregistered company.
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