CFS offers reimbursement for tax glitch

Colonial First State (CFS) has told financial advisers that it will reimburse clients who receive Australian Taxation Office (ATO) penalty notices because they receive delayed platform tax statements.

Financial advisers have shared with Financial Newswire correspondence from CFS headlined “annual tax statement delay”.

The e-mail to advisers warns that “some of your clients may receive their annual IDPS tax statement(s) for CFS Edge and/or their former Wrap account close to or after 31 October. This means these clients who lodge their own individual tax return may miss the ATO’s general deadline of 31 October and may receive a penalty notice with any subsequent late lodgement.

“We’re sorry for this. We acknowledge this does not meet the level of service you expect from us and will reimburse any penalty costs your clients incur because of this delay,” it says.

The e-mail notification then goes on to explain why the statements are delayed, stating that “This year’s statement run required amendments to cost base details and the integration of multiple data sources due to the transfer from Wrap to CFS Edge. Delays in receiving tax information from fund managers and other third parties also contributed to the statement delay.

“We’re continuing to work through the remaining statements as quickly as possible, with the next 5,000 CFS Edge statements being issued this weekend,” the e-mail issued last Thursday says.

It notes that the “issuing of penalty notices is at the discretion of the ATO.

“If any of your clients do receive a Failure to Lodge (FTL) penalty from the ATO due to receiving their annual tax statement late, we will reimburse them. Please forward the penalty notice to us via 

“We will also be able to provide you with a template letter to support your clients if they wish to dispute the penalty.”