The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Point of Consumption Charges – Offshore Operator Guidance

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How to get in touch

For any queries regarding the Point of Consumption Charges (POCC) please email poccadmin@dia.govt.nz. The POCC administration team will respond to your email within 48 hours. However, there can be delays when correspondence is received outside of business hours or on weekends and New Zealand public holidays. 

The POCC Administration Teams operating hours are:

Monday – Friday: 9:00am – 4:00pm (NZDT)

**New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) +1300 UTC**

What is the POCC?

The POCC is a charge established by the Racing Industry Act 2020 and set out in the Racing Industry (Offshore Betting - Consumption Charges) Regulations 2021. The POCC applies to bets taken by offshore betting providers on racing and sporting events from persons resident in New Zealand. The charge applies regardless of whether the event is held in or outside New Zealand.

Who needs to pay?

The criteria for establishing if a bet has been taken from a person resident in New Zealand is set out in section 8B of the Goods and Services Act 1985. This section requires an offshore betting operator to treat a person making a bet with them as a person resident in New Zealand if two of the following items are non-contradictory and support the conclusion that the person is resident in New Zealand:

  • the person’s billing address;
  • the internet protocol address of the device used by the person or another geolocation method
  • the person’s bank details, including the account the person uses for payment or the billing address held by the bank
  • the mobile country code of the international mobile subscriber identity stored on the subscriber identity module card used by the person
  • the location of the person’s fixed land line through which the service is supplied to them
  • other commercially relevant information.

Who is exempt from paying?

The POCC will not apply to an operator if that operator:

  • Does not take bets on sport and racing
  • Does not take bets from persons in New Zealand
  • If their sport and racing Gross Betting Revenue (GBR) derived from persons in New Zealand does not meet the NZ$60,000 (GST excl) threshold required for payment of the POCC in that financial year.

How to calculate POCC

The rate of POCC has been set in regulations as 10 per cent of an offshore operators Gross Betting Revenue (GBR). GBR is calculated as:

A – B = GBR

Where:

  • A is the total amount in money received by the offshore betting operator from taking bets on racing events and sporting events held in or outside New Zealand from persons resident in New Zealand.
  • B is the total amount of all prizes paid and payable in money to persons resident in New Zealand in relation to those bets.

Note:

  • refunds on bets (for example because of late horse scratching) can be deducted from an offshore betting operator’s “amounts received” calculation;
  • bonus bets would be included in the GBR calculation, but only to the extent of any “net-winning” derived from a bonus bet. For example, if an offshore betting operator offers a $50 bonus bet to a person resident in New Zealand who wins $200 from the bet (e.g. the $50 bonus bet stake place a “win” of $150, then only the $150 should be included in the GBR calculation as a prize paid); and
  • lay off bets are not considered when determining an offshore betting operators GBR
  • POCC is only calculated on GBR from racing and sports betting and does not include other forms of online gambling. GBR is liable for GST and POCC should be calculated on the GBR total inclusive of GST.

Losses:

  • If a loss has been incurred in a given period, input GBR as a negative figure on the operator submission page of the online portal. If carrying over a loss from a previous reporting period, input this in the losses box on the operator submission page.

How to file a POCC return and make payment

To file a POCC return, an account must be set up with the Designated Authority (the Department of Internal Affairs) to access the POCC reporting portal. Access can be provided by emailing the Designated Authority at poccadmin@dia.govt.nz.

If an intermediary is establishing the account and/or will be lodging the POCC returns, an authority to act will be required. Setting up an authority can be arranged by emailing the Designated Authority at poccadmin@dia.govt.nz. 

Instructions on how to make payment on POCC will be provided once a return has been filed. POCC returns are required at the end of every 3-month period ending on the close of 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March.

The POCC regulations come into force on 1 August 2021. For this reason, the first return period for POCC is from 1 August 2021 to 30 September 2021. Payment of POCC is due no later than 28 days after the end of the relevant return period.

For more information

The links below provide further information on the POCC and offshore betting operators’ responsibilities:

List of sports in respect of which POCC is payable

Aikido

American Football

Archery

Athletics

Australian Rules

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Bowls

Boxing

Bridge

Bubble Football

Canoe polo

Canoeing

Cheerleading

Cricket

Croquet

Curling

Cycling

Darts

Diving

Dragon boating

Equestrian

E sports

Fencing

Figure skating

Fistball

Floorball

Flying

Flying disc

Gliding

Golf

Gymnastics

Handball

Hang gliding

Hockey

Ice Hockey

Indoor Bowls

Judo

Ju-Jitsu

Karate

Kart/Cart

Kendo

Korfball

Kung Fu Wushu

Lacrosse

Marching

Mini Golf

Mixed Martial Arts

Motor Sports (on and off road)

Motorcycling

Sports for the Blind

Sports for the Deaf

Disability Sports

Paralympic sports

Special Olympics sports

University and tertiary education sports

Netball

Nga Kaihoe

Parkour

Petanque

Pickleball

Polo

Polocrosse

Pony riding

Powerboating

Powerlifting

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rodeo

Roller derby

Rowing

Rugby League

 

Rugby Union

Sailing

Shearing

Shooting

Skateboarding

Skeleton

Snooker

Snowsports

Soccer/Football

Softball

Speed skating

Speedway

Sport climbing

Squash

Surf life saving

Surfing

Swimming

Synchro swimming

Table Tennis

Taekwondo

Tennis

Tenpin bowling

Touch rugby

Triathlon

Underwater sports

Volleyball

Waka ama

Wakeboarding

Waterpolo

Weightlifting

Windsurfing

Woodchopping

Wrestling

 

 

 

 

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