Tax agency terminated for serious breaches

The TPB’s investigations found that the company had engaged in conduct that breached the code by failing to act honestly and with integrity. The company had done this by:

• Accessing clients’ ATO notices of assessment without authorisation and falsely representing to the TPB that those documents had been provided by the clients to satisfy proof-of-identity (POI) requirements.
• Maintaining false interview sheets and POI records to support those representations
• Falsely claiming that document verification service checks had been undertaken for POI when they had not been completed
• Implementing terms and conditions that allowed the company to deduct fees from ATO refunds for up to 10 years, even if it did not lodge the income tax return and repeatedly redirect refunds to the company’s trust account.

The investigations also revealed that the company offered “goodwill payments” to clients on the condition that they agree not to make complaints against it.

Furthermore, the TPB found that the company failed to provide tax agent services competently by not carrying out adequate POI checks, maintaining adequate records of identification documents checked for POI purposes, changing clients’ bank account details without properly verifying their circumstances, and failing to implement appropriate supervision and quality assurance processes before lodging tax returns.

The consequence of these failures was that the company failed to take reasonable care to ascertain clients’ circumstances before changing financial institution details on ATO records, and failed to conduct POI according to the requirements. Income tax returns were lodged without client authorisation, and client refunds were redirected.

According to the TPB, this demonstrated a failure to exercise reasonable care and comply with key professional obligations.

In addition to this, the TPB’s investigation showed that the company’s directors were no longer fit and proper persons, and as such, the company failed to meet the tax practitioner registration requirements under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) that its directors must be fit and proper persons.

As director and supervising agent of the company, Mona Makan was found not to be a fit and proper person as she caused the company to engage in conduct that undermines public trust and confidence in the integrity of the tax system and the professional standards expected of the tax practitioners.

As a supervising agent, Presh Batra was found not to be a fit and proper person as he caused the company to engage in conduct that breached the code, and as a registered tax agent, submitted client income tax returns that were unauthorised.

Both Makan and Batra were found to have caused the company to engage in conduct that is so serious that the TPB, the ATO commissioner, clients, and the public could not have confidence that Makan would perform her functions as a registered tax agent to the required standard of integrity and competence.

Given the seriousness of the breaches of conduct, the TPB said it also decided to prohibit the company from reapplying for registration for three years from the date the termination takes effect.

TPB chair Peter de Cure said the decision illustrates the importance of strong client verification and governance processes in protecting taxpayers and maintaining confidence in the tax profession.

“This case involved serious failures in client identity verification, record-keeping and practice governance. These failures enabled tax returns to be lodged without proper authorisation and exposed clients to significant risk,” he said.

“Identity verification is not simply an administrative step. It is a fundamental safeguard that helps protect clients from fraud, unauthorised access to their information and the misuse of their tax affairs. Tax practitioners should review their systems and processes regularly to ensure they have effective controls in place and are meeting their professional obligations.”

de Cure warned that the TPB will take appropriate action against tax practitioners who do not meet standards.

“Tax practitioners play a trusted role in the tax system and are expected to meet high standards of competence, integrity and client care,” he said.

The termination came into effect on 16 July 2027 and ends on 16 July 2029.

On 15 July 2026, Xero Taxation Pty Ltd applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for a review of the TPB’s decisions to terminate its tax agent registration and prohibit it from reapplying for registration for three years.

The review of the TPB’s decision is yet to be heard.