PLS Transition Roundtable Outcomes
/ UNCLASSIFIED ExternalTitle: / ABSIA & ATO PLS Transition Roundtable
Issue date: / 27 October 2017
Venue: / WebEx
Event date: / 24 October 2017 / Start: 1:00pm AEDT / Finish: 2:30pm
Chair: / Martin Mane / Facilitator: / N/A
Contact / Scott Rumford / Contact phone: / (02) 4923 1201
Attendees:
names/section / ATO – Alex Barnes, Andrew Watson, Anne Soe, Brendan Woolcock, Carolyn Howden, Craig Woodburn, Danny Figueiredo, Doipayon Halder, Gary Baxter, Gary Warne, Joe Maxymenko, Luke Beaman, Martin Mane, Scott Rumford, Sharna Maltman, Timothy Stimson.
Industry – Jack Wee (Catsoft), Mike Denniss (Class Super), Mike Behling (MYOB), Kevin Johnson (Reckon), Darin Carter, Michael Wright (Sage), Richard Puffe (Thomson Reuters), Andrew Sprankling, Anthony Migliardi, Kelvin Newton (Xero).
Apologies:
name/section / ATO – Ian Scensor, Michael Job.
Industry – Jeevan Tokhi (BGL), Barry Males (CCH), Briony Campbell (CCH), Ron Sampson (Xero).
Next meeting / 8 November 2017
Agenda item: 2 – Previous outcomes and action items /
We provided out of session updates in the action items register and the group agreed to close action item 26/09 – 03 as the known incidents and lists page was updated.
Agenda item: 3 – PLS transition business update /
As per the PLS take-up briefing, the percentage of tax returns lodged via PLS is trending back up again after flat periods through July and August. The overall portion of returns lodged through PLS last week was over 40%.
From the time the ELS gateway closed to partnership tax returns at the end of September, we have not seen an increase in paper lodgments. Around 50% of SMSFAR, trust and fund income tax returns are coming in through the PLS channel prior to the close off date of 11 November 2017. This is following a similar pattern to the partnership tax return switch off.
Clients are taking note of messages from their DSP regarding the transition dates and are taking action to update their software.
We are visiting tax and BAS agents to discuss their digital experience and are seeing more agents noticing the benefits of PLS, such as refunds flowing through quicker. Some agents still want ELS validation reports, while others like that they can see lodgments going through the portals almost instantly.
Action item:
24/10 - 01 / Due date:
Wednesday 8 November 2017 / Responsibility:
Andrew Watson
Provide a list of all current ELS functionality (e.g. forms, schedules and reports) with expected closure dates. Follow up on information provided to Reckon regarding possible closures of XX and YY.
Agenda item: 4 – Micro group updates /
Transactions involving cancelled ABNs
· We are awaiting final approval before implementing the changes in the recommendation paper.
Generic error messaging and ATO business processes during an incident
· There are two options:
1. The first recommendation is to change the wording of the whitelist error. It can be used in an outage, but the current description of the error message says that the software is not registered with the ATO.
2. The second recommendation is to add a different error message for system outages. Implementing the second error message would be more involved, so we would like to change the wording as an interim solution.
Agenda item: 5 – PLS confidence indicators /
The PLS confidence indicators for this fortnight show that the availability and stability of the system is quite high. 95% of transactions were processed within 8.3 seconds and the average transmission time is 4.39 seconds.
We have noticed that bulk transactions are taking longer than expected in the PROD2 environment and understand that one of the underlying causes is a virus checker, so we will continue working on it in the coming days.
Agenda item: 6 – Tax agent communication /
· We will work to clearly articulate our communications regarding transition dates for minor standalone forms on the software developers website.
· An article was published in early October about the impending switch of the SMSF, trust and fund returns on 11 November 2017. We will be issuing a reminder through our newsletters closer to the date and this will supported by our social media posts on LinkedIn and Twitter.
· We will be promoting the company tax return transition date of 1 February 2018 before the end of the year.
· We have issued another reminder to tax professionals about the importance of adding new clients to their client lists in order to lodge.
· On 14 November 2017, we are having another live stream webcast that will include a PLS update.
Agenda item: 7 – EM001 error /
We are looking to establish a micro group for the EM001 error which is caused by a rejection from our backend systems when someone tries to amend a tax return that is lodged early. For example, the EM001 error would be returned if you lodge early using the 2016 form and then try to amend that return using the 2017 service. We are hoping to have a workaround in the next couple of days and will then call for expressions of interest from DSPs to work on a full solution.
Agenda item: 8 – Platform update /
The platform is working reliably and we managed a couple of issues in the last fortnight that did not require any outages. We conducted corrective action on a slow database server and increased our database size considerably, with the aim of creating a more stable platform.
Action item:
24/10 – 02 / Due date:
Wednesday 8 November 2017 / Responsibility:
Craig Woodburn
Martin Mane
Refine the generation of the incident lists to ensure they include all incidents that have been raised plus queries or service requests.
Agenda item: 9 – DSP feedback and readiness /
MYOB
· We have been working closely with the ATO on the activity statement lodgment report (ASLRPT) and have been informed that it may be available to test on a client next week.
Reckon
· Specifications still contain errors, as TRT validation is in the TRTAMI spreadsheet and the direct debit add service specs on the website are incorrect.
· We are still unsure about the purpose of the co-contributions changes and the MST has two different things for one field.
o Account manager has received the background information requested and is working with the PLS team to provide an understanding.
· The streamline release authorities change advice states that agents will access and submit the election form for their clients via the portal, rather than through their software via a wholesale service.
Sage
· Is the PROD release scheduled for 4 November 2017 still on track?
o Yes, the co-contributions and other changes will be deployed.
Xero
· When will we stop registering agents for ELS?
o As long as you can lodge prior year returns via SBR in the ELSTagFormat, agents will still need to be registered for ELS. We will look at our communication campaign to help provide clarity for agents.
Agenda item: 10 – Close /
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 November 2017 as the Melbourne Cup is on Tuesday.
We will continue to book telepresence rooms in Perth and Sydney, but you will need to email if you want to attend another ATO office.
If you have any questions, please email .
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