The AAT has upheld the disqualification of a trustee of a self-managed super fund for various contraventions involving loans and the early withdrawal of benefits.
A Deputy Commissioner disqualified the applicant Andrew Goulopoulos and his wife under s 126A(2) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) for alleged contraventions by the corporate trustee of their SMSF when they were its responsible officers. For the 2013 and 2104 years, 18 withdrawals totalling $825,930 were made from the SMSF without meeting a condition of release. The withdrawn money was used for the renovation of a house, the purchase of a motor vehicle and the family business which was under credit control.
The AAT held that the nature, seriousness, and number of contraventions provided grounds to disqualify the applicant under s 126A of the SIS Act. The AAT said the contraventions were “serious”, especially those involving the unauthorised withdrawals or loans from the fund. The failure to lodge SMSF returns for multiple years was also considered serious. The AAT rejected the applicant’s argument that the contraventions should not be considered serious as the ATO had only imposed a penalty for the fund’s borrowings, and not for all of the contraventions.
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