The ATO has reminded SMSF trustees and members it will continue to review the registration details of newly established funds in order to prevent cases of fraud and illegal release of superannuation entitlements.
In an update published on its website, the regulator stated it had recently updated the Super Fund Lookup (SFLU) system to provide additional information regarding the registration status of SMSFs and flag funds that may raise compliance issues.
“The SMSF registration process helps safeguard retirement savings by preventing the inappropriate establishment of SMSFs. It can take up to 56 days before an SMSF is shown on SFLU as a regulated fund,” the ATO said.
“Once a new SMSF is displayed on SFLU, it will initially be given a status of ‘Registered’. This status is allocated to all SMSFs on registration and will be updated within seven days to ‘Complying’ when the SMSF receives its Notice of Compliance.
“An Australian business number (ABN) for the fund will be issued before the election to be regulated is processed. This means that you can use the ABN to establish a bank account for the SMSF.
“If we identify a problem with a new registration, we will immediately contact the authorised contact for the SMSF.”
Additionally, the ATO stated it had taken steps to strengthen the integrity of the rollover process by requiring all Australian Prudential Regulation Authority-regulated funds and SMSFs to verify a series of key details before processing a rollover request.
This includes using the SMSF verification service (SVS) to confirm the ABN provided is registered as an SMSF and that the requesting member’s tax file number is associated with the fund.
“If the SVS indicates the SMSF doesn’t have a ‘registered’ or ‘complying’ status, they will not be able to receive a rollover,” the ATO said.
“If the transferring fund suspects any illegal activity, they will report it to us and may also be required to report it to relevant law enforcement agencies.”
The regulator urged SMSF members to keep their details accurate and promptly contact the ATO if they suspect any unauthorised changes to their fund’s information or believe they may have been targeted by fraudsters.
