AU2016100977A4 - Method and system for automated collection and rebate of a gst taxation - Google Patents

Abstract

Method and System for Automated Collection of GST Debits and Credits A method for gathering the Goods and Services Tax (GST) component of an electronic transaction or an electronic invoice, for the purpose of accounting for amounts of GST paid on items purchased, or amounts of GST collected in the process of a sale of goods and/or services. An Australian Taxation Office (ATO) GST card, or other electronic repository or record, specific to an individual GST paying customer, is provided, for recording GST transacted amounts. The GST amount is attributed to the purchaser's ATO GST record as a negative amount (GST paid), and to the vendor's ATO GST record as a positive amount (GST collected). A negative balance indicates an amount which is converted to a positive amount on settlement of GST commitments, and is owed by the ATO to the customer, while a positive balance indicates that the customer owes that amount to the ATO. The process provides the ability to settle these balance amounts with the ATO's banking facility, simultaneously with a transaction or invoice payment, or maintain a running GST balance, reflecting the accumulation of numerous transactions, after which an end of period process is provided at a given time, to extract the equivalent of any positive balance amount from the bank account or card account of an ATO GST card holder, and credit these funds to the ATO, while the process will extract a positive amount equal to the negative balance of an ATO GST card holder, whose ATO GST card balance has a negative balance, and deposit these funds to the bank account of that ATO GST card/account holder. The end of period process returns all card balances to zero. $0.00. DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 5 AND 6 Fig, 5 illustrates the bolts that will secure the removable rim to be engaged to the wheel. Fig, 6 illustrates the wheel to which the tyre and removable rim will be engaged and secured. In Fig. 5, the illustration shows a bolt which may be used to secure the rim (shown in Fig. 4) together with the tyre to the wheel (shown in Fig. 6) within the plurality of apertures (shown in Fig. 4, at 11) through which the bolt may be passed to engage the rim together with the tyre, to the wheel at the female threads (as shown in Fig. 3 at 7) and thereby securing the tyre to the wheel. This is further illustrated as shown in Fig. 3 with the removed rim from the wheel and tyre showing the securing means of the female threads of the wheel at 7, by which the bolt in Fig. 5 may be passed through the removed rim to be engaged to the wheel by these female threads shown in Fig. 3 at 7 and thereby securing the tyre to the wheel. In Fig. 6, the illustration shows the wheel detached from the tyre and the removable rim and to which the tyre and removable rim may be attached by the means described in the above Fig's. 3, 4, & 5. The illustration shows the protrusions at 12 which is further illustrated in Fig. 3 at 9 and which may engage with the recesses in the tyre as shown in Fig. 3 at 8 for both the tyre and wheel to be securely engaged, together with the further removable rim secured by the bolt in the manner described in Fig. 5. wholesaler Retail Oudet Business IBusiness 2 ofgital OvelayAP BansaI./favnke 2 n 1 7 GSTBBan 2 Figure I

Description

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT

Invention Title: Method and System for the automated collection of GST Debits and Credits and settlement.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED COLLECTION AND REBATE OF A

GST TAXATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to Good and Services Tax (GST) Taxation Collection methods which are implemented using computer networks in conjunction with any electronic transaction system (EFTPOS or any other electronic transaction or invoicing system). Embodiments of the Invention are designed to be implemented as an Overlay System for electronic invoices and/or electronic invoice payments or other payments, with the launch of the NPP (New Payments Platform, proposed to be in effect by January 2017).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] (BAS STATEMENT) “ (The Business Activity Statement (BAS) is a tax reporting requirement for businesses issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on either a monthly or quarterly basis. It’s used for reporting and paving goods and services tax (GST), pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding tax and other tax obligations.)” [0003] Goods and Services Tax (GST) taxation collection and reporting methods and systems mostly require manual input to finalise the Government’s required Business Activity Statement (BAS) statement. This is currently a system of acquiring credits and debits of an amount being a portion of a sale amount, which is additional to the original sale price of the object or service, and which is paid by the purchaser and collected by the seller in the process of the purchase and sale of goods and/or services which, by a Government or Governing Authority, have been deemed to attract a “goods and services tax” (or “value added tax”) component additional to the actual sale price.

[0004] In Australia, the Government’s GST reporting and calculating requirements represent a significant portion of the BAS statement. While some software applications can accumulate the GST debits and credits separately, the Applicant has identified that the current reporting systems are unreliable and cumbersome for businesses and corporations to comply with, and usually require manual accounting in order to complete the required reporting (BAS statement) to Government requirements. These methods are also very open to the submission of fraudulent returns costing the Government hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

[0005] The Applicant has further identified that businesses and corporations are over burdened with paper work and compliance issues, and statistics point to an annual cost in Australia of over $18 billion dollars for businesses and corporations to simply comply with the taxation reporting requirements of Government. This Invention will go a fair way toward eliminating this cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative type of GST taxation collection and rebates, and to remove the onus of compliance, lodgement and accounting for the management of these funds from businesses and Corporations, and to account for these funds automatically through the collection of electronic data, and processing this data to achieve the same results as the BAS statement.

[0007] While embodiments of the Invention are designed to operate over the current Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) platform for point of sale (POS) transactions, one embodiment is designed to operate over the New Payments Platform (NPP) for electronic payment transactions. The NPP is being designed to accommodate fast payments and will permit the sending of extensive data sets of various types across the electronic payments platform. One embodiment of the invention is designed to become a new Overlay System (Self-contained processing element for a specific purpose) within the NPP.

[0008] In a first aspect, the invention provides for the issuing of an ATO GST debit card (similar to a standard debit/credit card) or a similar repository or numbered account, but designed specifically to relate to an individual GST paying customer, by reference to an allocated ATO GST card number (or other repository account number or customer specific number). Its primary function is to maintain records of GST amounts within electronic transactions which have a GST component. In one aspect, the Invention provides for containing a single static or running balance, capable of being either a credit balance of a cash amount, or alternatively, a debit balance (being a minus sum) of a cash amount. One aspect provides for immediate settlement of ATO GST payments and/or rebates, simultaneously with an electronic transaction. In another aspect, the invention provides for recording numerous transactions, adding both positive and/or negative updates to balances, prior to settlement of ATO GST payments and/or rebates, and at a designated end of period, step through all records sequentially and perform the settlement process.

[0009] In a particular preferred embodiment, banks will issue ATO GST card numbers (or other customer specific numbers) to business customers registered or registering as GST paying businesses, thereby linking the customers bank account details to the business’s ATO GST card number (or other customer specific number). In another embodiment, the ATO or another appointed authority or transaction processing entity, will issue ATO GST card numbers (or other customer specific numbers), and simultaneously update a central ATO GST card database, with each card holders business banking account details.

[0010] In another preferred embodiment, an Overlay System is provided within the NPP (New Payments platform), which contains the ATO GST card database (or a digital link to the database) of all ATO GST card numbers (or other customer specific numbers), and which database has records pertaining to every GST registered business, which has been allocated an ATO GST card number (or other customer specific number). The database will contain information relating to the business’s bank account details, updated as each ATO GST card or number is allocated to a GST paying customer, thereby providing linkage between the ATO GST card number, and the customer’s business bank account details, within this provided Overlay component within the NPP or as otherwise required.

[0011] One aspect of this embodiment provides for the capture or receipt of an electronic transaction (invoice payment or other transaction capable of occurring within the NPP) by the Overlay System, which then identifies whether either customer’s bank account (acquirer or Issuer) or BIC (business Identity Code) is linked to an ATO GST card number (or account number). If there are no linkages, and there is no GST component, the transaction is ignored. The amount of the GST can be identified in the new NPP system, by the data delivered to or intercepted by the Overlay (the Invention), and if a transaction (or invoice) is identified as a GST positive transaction (the transaction contains a GST amount and/or at least one of the participants in the transaction is registered for GST and/or the product of the transaction is identified as attracting a GST taxation), the Overlay system will initiate the provided ATO GST balance update procedure which is provided for in this aspect of the Invention.

[0012] In the update procedure, the total amount required to be paid to the vendor bank (the bank account of the issuer of the invoice or recipient of the funds in a sales transaction) is reduced by the GST amount, resulting in this reduced amount then being deposited to the bank account of the acquirer bank to settle the invoice or transaction completely. The ATO GST card balance of the vendor (whose bank is the acquirer bank and has been identified as a GST registered business) will then have its ATO GST card balance altered by adding the amount of GST, identified in the transaction, to this customer’s ATO GST card balance as a positive amount. In the same process, the ATO GST card account balance of the purchaser in the transaction, if GST registered, will have the businesses related ATO GST card account balance altered by adding the GST amount as a negative amount, to the related ATO GST card balance, and the transaction is settled completely. In another aspect the vendor’s bank receives the total invoice amount, and the GST component is only recorded in the customers ATO GST card account for later GST settlement with the ATO (Australian Taxation Office or other approved authority).

[1013] One aspect of the invention provides for a settlement of GST obligations with the ATO, simultaneously with the settlement of each transaction or invoice, whereby each transaction activates a payment to the ATO of the GST amount by the vendor, and/or a rebate of the GST amount, by the ATO, to the purchaser. Another aspect of the invention provides for settlement at specified “end of period” times. This can be provided at “end of day” as a batch file, or end of week or end of month, or as otherwise specified (end of period).

[0014] The Invention provides for an “end of period” settlement process for collecting and rebating GST debits and credits. In this aspect of the Invention, the settlement process accesses each ATO GST card balance sequentially at a given time, and interrogates each ATO GST card balance. In the case of a positive balance (card balance is a plus balance) the process will deduct that amount from the bank account or ATO GST card account of the ATO GST card holder, and deposit the funds into a bank account belonging to the ATO or approved collection authority, and thereafter replace that ATO GST card balance with a zero amount ($0.00). In the case of a negative balance on the ATO GST card (or account), the process will deduct that amount of cash funds (reversed to a positive amount) from a dedicated account of the ATO or other collection authority (provided for the purpose) and deposit these funds into the bank account/card account of the ATO GST card holder, and thereafter replace that ATO GST card balance with a zero amount. ($0.00) (The GST Settlement).

[0015] In each embodiment, the steps of automatically adding debits and/or credits to the balance of the GST card of a business, performed via an automated computer process, using data processed via a Point of Sale Transaction (POS) through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFTPOS or other electronic transaction process, or within the NPP or an overlay provided within the NPP) gives the business an enormous advantage as a large part of the required reporting is done automatically. GST manual reporting is therefore eliminated.

[0016] Further preferred features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which should not be considered to be limiting of the scope of the invention as defined in the preceding statements, or in the claims appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTOIN OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Preferred embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein; [0018] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system embodying the present invention applied within the NPP (New Payments Platform); [0019] Figure 1a is a flow chart illustrating the preferred method for initiating GST paying customer records in the GST card database according to the invention.

[0020] Figure 1 b is a flow chart illustrating the preferred method for identifying the GST amount in an electronic transaction, settling the transaction amount less the GST amount, and then settling the GST amounts to the ATO GST card database.

[0021] Figure 1 c demonstrates the preferred method, for a business to institute an invoice and receive payment after it has been issued, or process a sale transaction to a customer, electronically, and simultaneously have the GST amount extracted from the sale amount, and accounted for in the ATO GST card database.

[0022] Figure 1d demonstrates the preferred method for settling the GST obligations of both the business and the customer, after the GST amount has been extracted from a sale transaction amount or invoice payment amount in an electronic transaction.

[0023] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary system embodying the present invention applied within the EFTPOS or other electronic transaction processing system or platform; [0024] Figure 2a is a flow chart illustrating a brief outline of a method for gathering GST amounts itemised within an electronic transaction, storing the information into an ATO GST card database record, and performing the settlement of ATO GST obligations at a given time, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0025] Figure 2b provides a step by step flow chart 240 of an EFTPOS transaction and providing an additional method attached to it (Figure 2c) provided by one embodiment of the Invention, to interact with that electronic EFTPOS transaction 240, or any other electronic transaction processing method, and then turning to Figure 2c, to identify and capture or receive the customer details, the purchaser details, and the GST component within the transaction, at a given point 252 in that transaction.

[0026] Figure 2c is a flow chart that illustrates a preferred method of updating the ATO GST card database 108 with the information identified within the figure 2b at 252 and to update the GST balance records of the ATO GST card of each GST paying customer participating in the electronic transaction, simultaneous with the settlement of that electronic transaction.

[0027] Figure 3 provides a flow chart which describes a particularly preferred embodiment of the ATO GST update procedure provided within the Invention (the ATO GST Overlay) 106, to process an “end of period” procedure facilitating the collection of all GST obligations and the refund all GST rebate entitlements of ATO GST card holders, at a pre-determined time, and to simultaneously reset the card balances within the ATO GST database 108. Another aspect of the Invention provides for simultaneous settlements of ATO GST obligations and/or rebates, immediately after the settlement of each actual transaction, thereby negating the “end of period” process.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

[0028] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system within which the present invention may be embodied. The system 100 includes one or more server computers containing the New Payments Platform (NPP) 102 which is configured to encompass or react with additional individual Overlay systems (e.g. 104 and106) (Overlay systems are additional programs, modules, or procedures developed to enhance or supplement the capabilities of the NPP), also provided within the system 100. The server system 100 includes one or more processors, which are associated with random access memory, and are used for containing program instructions and transient data related to the operation of the services provided by the NPP module 102 or other Overlays produced to enhance the capabilities of the NPP. In particular, any Overlay 104 can contain a body of program instructions for producing an invoice payment or sales payment method for business to business or business to retail customers. In this particular embodiment, the ATO GST Overlay 106 provides a method for intercepting or receiving information relevant to the GST component (either calculated or specified) identified within the invoice payment amount or the sales transaction amount, of a transaction generated within any Overlay 104 (digital data). The GST amount is defined as being an amount relative to rules as defined by the Australian Taxation Office or any other authorised body. In particular, in the preferred embodiment, the Overlay 106 is configured to intercept or receive information for use in updating the ATO GST card database 108, which, through the NPP network platform 100 communicates with the ATO bank 110. In one aspect the GST paying businesses 112 and 116 are connected to the NPP network through a direct network connection. In another aspect the businesses are connected to the NPP through the individual banking systems 114 and 118 of the businesses.

[0029] Turning now to Figure 1a, there is shown a flowchart illustrating a preferred method 120 for registering a business to become a GST paying customer within the ATO GST card database 108 in order to automate the process of complying with GST payment obligations and the receipt of GST rebates. In one aspect there is provided a body of program instructions which provides a web-based interface to authorised persons, enabling authorised persons to remotely access the service from any client computer executing conventional web browser software, and create a record of a GST paying customer in the ATO GST card database 108. At 122 an authorised person commences the operation. At 124 the procedure creates a new record containing all relevant information (as input by the authorised person) of the GST paying customer, including the BIC (“business identity code”), Bank account details, ABN etc, or such information as requires to be able to identify the customer when participating in an electronic transaction. At 126, on completion of the process, the record is stored in the ATO GST card database 108.

[0030] Turning now to Figure 1b, there is shown a flowchart 130 illustrating an overview of a preferred method for the ATO GST Overlay 106 to interact within the NPP processing server system 100 and any Invoice payment/sales Overlay system 104. At 132 a digital payment of an invoice or a sale transaction process is commenced by a business 116, registered for GST payments within the ATO GST card database 108, and using any Overlay sales/invoice module 104. At 134 the GST portion of the payment amount is identified and subtracted from the payment amount in the transaction. At 136 the new payment amount is used by the Overlay sales/invoice module 104 to finalise the transaction payment to business 112. At 138 the ATO GST Overlay 106 performs the ATO GST card update procedure to update the ATO GST card balances of the acquirer of the funds and the payee of the funds, in the ATO GST database 108.

[0031] In Figure 1c, there is shown a flow chart 150 illustrating the flow of a payment process over the NPP (New Payment Platform server system) using any invoice payment or sales payment Overlay 104, which has been designed to operate in conjunction with the NPP 102 (New Payment Platform). At 152 a business customer 112 will activate the Overlay 104 to generate an invoice payable or a sale transaction to another business customer 116 (or a retail customer). If the action produced an invoice then at 154 an invoice is delivered to and received by the customer 116 and the process then proceeds to 156 where payment of the invoice is commenced by the invoice recipient 116. If the action commenced at 152 produced a sale transaction, the procedure would advance direct from 152 to 156 where the payment module is activated. At 158 the ATO GST Overlay 106 intercepts or receives the transaction payment amount and details for assessment, and deducts the GST amount as defined within the transaction details (or as a calculated percentage) from the payment amount. At 160 the ATO GST Overlay 106 delivers a new amount, being the original payment amount less the GST component, back to the Overlay 104 which then processes this amount to become the processed settlement amount. At 162 the ATO GST Overlay module, using the details of the transaction and the GST amount, performs the ATO GST card update procedure to update the balances of the ATO GST cards of business 112 and business 116 in the ATO GST card database 108. End.

[0032] Turning now to Figure 1d there is shown a flowchart 170 illustrating the flow of the ATO GST card update procedure as contained within the ATO GST Overlay (104 in Figure 1). At 172 the ATO GST update procedure contained within the ATO GST Overlay 106 will locate the ATO GST card record of the business 112 in the ATO GST database (108 in Figure 1) which was the recipient of the payment designated by the transaction. At 174 the ATO GST Overlay 106 adds the GST component of the transaction to the card balance of the businesses 112 ATO GST card balance. At 176 the procedure will locate the ATO GST card record of the business 116 in the ATO GST database 108 which made the payment of the designated transaction amount. At 178 the ATO GST Overlay subtracts the GST component of the transaction from the businesses 116 ATO GST card balance. End.

[0033] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary system within which the present invention may be embodied. The system 200 includes one or more server computers and a network system 202, containing the Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) processing system 204 which is configured to manage payments for sales initiated through EFTPOS terminals 218 to a customer 220 using a credit or debit card, and which terminal 218 is linked to the EFTPOS system through a connection with the merchant bank 214 and the Credit card network 206.

[0034] The system network 202 also contains the system credit card network 206, which is configured to intercept credit and/or debit card transactions being initiated by the EFTPOS processing terminal 218, and which meet certain criteria, for the purpose of performing additional actions within or over the network, to make changes to a credit card network database containing card history, for various purposes including loyalty and rewards, as well as communicate responses to merchant and customer banks for approval or declined responses, and deliver batch file settlements to effect payments generated by the EFTPOS processing 204.

[0035] The system network 202 also contains links to the Merchant banks 214 for the purpose of connecting the EFTPOS terminal 218 to the Credit card networks 206 and the EFTPOS processing system 204. The system network 202 also contains links to the Customer banks 216 for the purpose of facilitating a response (approved or declined) to the EFTPOS processing system 204, and to provide settlement funds to approved transactions, to be remitted to the Merchant bank 214, through the credit card network 206 (the settlement process).

[0036] In one embodiment, there is provided an ATO GST card network 208 with functions similar to the Credit card network 206, whereby the ATO GST card network provides the capability of either intercepting or receiving certain specific EFTPOS transactions, for the purpose of performing additional processes to update the ATO GST card database 210 with GST information contained within electronic transactions. In one aspect of the Invention, the ATO GST database 210 is contained within the system network 202. In another aspect the ATO GST card network 208 has a digital link to the ATO GST database 210 which, in this aspect, is located externally to the network.

[0037] In one embodiment, there is provided a link between the ATO GST processing system 208 and the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) bank account 212, for the purpose of performing GST payments from and rebates to ATO GST card holders ATO GST card accounts. In one aspect of the Invention, this update process is performed at a given “end of period” time. In another aspect this process is performed at the end of each EFTPOS transaction which has updated the ATO GST database.

[0038] Turning now to figure 2a there is provided an overview flow chart illustrating an outline of the process of the Invention interacting with a standard EFTPOS transaction. At 230 an EFTPOS transaction through an EFTPOS terminal 218 is initiated by customer 220 using a credit or debit card. At 232 all information transmitted by the EFTPOS terminal 218 is collected by the merchant bank 214 and transmitted to the Credit Card Network 206. At 234 the approved EFTPOS transaction is settled. At 236 the GST card network 208 performs the ATO GST card update procedure based on the transaction. At 238 (end of period) the ATO GST update procedure is performed on all ATO GST cards and all GST commitments are completed, including payments and rebates.

[0039] Turning now to figure 2b, there is provided 240 a step by step flow chart of an EFTPOS transaction being interposed with the ATO GST card network 208 at 260 defined in Figure 2c. At 242 a customer decides to make a purchase at an EFTOS terminal. At 244 the customer card is processed through the EFTPOS terminal 218 (Figure 2) to facilitate the purchase transaction. At 246 the transaction is routed to the merchant’s bank 214. At 248 the merchant’s bank routes the transaction details to the credit card network 206 (Figure 2). At 250 the transaction is routed through the credit card network 206 to the customer bank 216 (Figure 2). At 252 the credit card network makes the transaction details available to the GST card network 208 (Figure 2) and the proceeds to send the transaction details back to the merchant’s bank 214 as approved. At 254 the merchant’s bank forwards the approved transaction details to the EFTPOS terminal 218. At 256 the EFTPOS terminal receives confirmation that the transaction as approved and the transaction is complete.

[0040] Turning now to figure 2c there is provided a flow chart 260 which illustrates the ATO GST card batch file procedure performed after 252 in Figure 2b. At 262 the transaction details of the EFTPOS transaction are received by the GST card network 208. At 264 the GST amount and the merchant details are stored in a batch file for processing post the transaction approval, and the GST amount together with the customer details are also stored in a batch file for post transaction settlement. At 266 the ATO GST card update procedure is activated.

[0041] Turning now to Figure 2d at 270 there is provided a flow chart of the ATO GST card update procedure. At 272 the update procedure locates the merchant record identified in the transaction, in the ATO GST database 210. At 274 the procedure adds the GST amount retrieved from the transaction, to the balance of the ATO GST card of the merchant. At 276 the update procedure locates the customer record identified in the transaction, in the ATO GST database 210. At 278 the procedure deducts the GST amount retrieved from the transaction, from the balance of the ATO GST card of the customer.

[0042] In accordance with embodiments of the present Invention, there is provided an “end of period” update procedure as illustrated in Figure 3. At 300 there is provided a flow chart illustrating the process. At 302 the process is commenced at a given time. At 304 the process commences the update procedure by locating the first record in the ATO GST database 108 or 210. At 306 the process retrieves the ATO GST card’s balance and the banking information of the ATO GST card holder as contained in the database 108 or 210. If the retrieved balance is a negative amount the procedure steps to 308. With a negative balance the procedure then steps to 316 where the negative amount is extracted from a bank account of the ATO (or authorised authority) and this amount is then deposited to the account of the ATO GST card holder as identified at 306. At 318 the card balance of the ATO GST record being updated is reset to a zero balance ($0.00). At 320 the procedure then locates the next record in the ATO GST database 108 or 210. If the end of file is encountered (there is no next record) the procedure steps to 322 and the procedure ends. If a next record is located the procedure reverts back to 306 to repeat the process until the final record has been processed. At 322 when no next record is found, the process ends.

[0043] Reverting now to step 306, if a positive amount was identified in the record the procedure steps to 312 where the cash positive amount is then deducted from the ATO GST card account (or the identified bank account of the ATO GST card holder) and deposited to the bank account of the ATO (or other identified collection authority). At 314 the card balance of the ATO GST record being updated is reset to a zero balance ($0.00). At 320 the procedure then locates the next record in the ATO GST database 108 or 210. If the end of file is encountered (there is no next record) the procedure steps to 322 and the procedure ends. If a next record is located the procedure reverts back to 306 to repeat the process until the final record has been processed. At 322 when no next record is found, the process ends.

[0044] In summary, embodiments of the present invention facilitate the elimination of certain portions of the current methods for the preparation and submission of a BAS statement as required to be prepared and lodged by every trading business within Australia and other taxation environments where a GST or VAT taxation applies.

[0045] While a primarily an "online" and “automated” implementation has been described herein, it should be appreciated that alternative mechanisms for capturing and storing the GST component of an electronic transaction, may be employed. For example, a total transaction amount could be used to calculate the GST component of an electronic transaction where a GST or VAT component is calculated as a percentage of a complete transaction. Other variations will also be apparent to persons 20 skilled in the art. It will therefore be understood from the foregoing description that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, which are provided by way of example only. Rather, the scope of the invention is as defined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (5)

1. THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

   1. A program or procedure, operating over a computer network or electronic transaction network, for retrieving a plurality of information from a transaction and identifying or calculating the Goods and Services Tax (GST) component of that transaction, and recording the plurality of information and the GST component of that transaction, for the purpose of automatically reporting a summary of GST components over one transaction or a number of transactions performed sequentially over a given period of time; to process at a given time, the plurality of information accumulated over a set period, or after a single transaction, for the purpose of balancing and settling any ATO GST obligations or entitlements to a recognized authority.
2. 2. A program or procedure operating over a computer network or electronic transaction network as claimed in claim 1 to collect the GST component of transactions, matched with participants in the transaction, and to update a record of transactions to contain the relevant information, for the purpose of settling a GST obligation or receiving a GST rebate, simultaneous with transactions or at a given time after a number of sequential transactions; and wherein the recognized authority referred to is the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or any other authorised body, who has set one or more standards for the payment of a GST or other designated charge over a transaction, and whereby the transactions referred to are implemented over the New Payments Platform (NPP) or Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS).
3. 3. A program or procedure operating over a computer network or electronic transaction network according to the methods of claims 1 and 2 wherein the steps of retrieving a GST component from an electronic transaction can be performed by retrieving an amount specified within the transaction data as “GST” (or some other identifier) or alternatively can be processed and arrived at by a percentage calculation of the total amount of the transaction.
4. 4. A program or procedure operating over a computer network or electronic transaction network according to the methods of any of the above claims wherein the system for gathering information relative to a financial transaction, is dependent on another method, Overlay or process designed to perform an electronic transaction for the purpose of an exchange of funds for goods and/or services rendered; the system for gathering information relevant to electronic transactions of a purchase and sale of goods and/or services and which sale attracts a GST (a tax or penalty) relative to an amount is defined by the rules and regulations of the identified authority.
5. 5. A program or procedure operating over a computer network or electronic transaction network according to the methods of any of the above claims whereby at least one server computer having a microprocessor, an associated memory or storage device, and a network interface providing access to the Internet or electronic network; The memory storage device including a data store which retains and contains the plurality of information collected from transactions for the purpose of performing the GST settlement requirements of the participants in the transactions, automatically; The memory or storage device further including instructions executable by the microprocessor such that the server computer is operable to: Retrieve the plurality of information from all transactions via the network or electronic transaction network, and store the plurality of information within a reporting database, and; Perform an “end of period” process on the reporting database, such that a function of payments and rebates can be made to and received from a banking facility provided for accepting payments and delivering rebates to the participants in the transactions.