The ATO issued a garnishee notice to a taxpayer for debts from a former partnership business. The taxpayer was travelling at the time and the garnishee notice resulted in them losing access to funds whilst in a foreign country.

Our investigation revealed that in 2016 the ATO had advised the taxpayer that they would not be pursued for debts from the former business. Although, this advice was not correct at law, it was nonetheless provided and the taxpayer relied upon it. To resolve the complaint the ATO honoured its earlier advice to the taxpayer and returned the garnished funds. The ATO apologised and also took steps to ensure that no future debt collection actions would be taken against the taxpayer.