New South Wales Consolidated Acts

RETAIL LEASES ACT 1994 - SECT 20

20 Turnover rent

(1) For the purposes of any provision of a retail shop lease that relates to the determination of rent or a component of rent by reference to turnover, "turnover" does not include any of the following:

(a) the amount of losses incurred in the resale or disposal of merchandise reasonably and properly purchased from customers as trade-ins in the usual course of business,

(b) the amount of deposits and instalments received on account of lay-bys, hire purchase or credit sales, and which are refunded to customers,

(c) the amount of a refund on a transaction when the proceeds of the transaction have been included as part of turnover,

(d) the amount of any service, finance or interest charges payable to any financier in connection with provision of credit to customers (other than commissions on credit or store cards),

(e) the price of merchandise exchanged between shops of the lessee if the exchange is made solely for the convenient operation of the business of the lessee and not for the purpose of concluding a sale made at or from the shop to which the lease relates,

(f) the price of merchandise returns to shippers, wholesalers or manufacturers,

(g) the proceeds of sale of the lessee’s fixtures and fittings after their use in the conduct of business at or from the retail shop to which the lease relates,

(h) the amount of discounts allowed to customers in the normal course of business,

(i) the amount of uncollected credit accounts that are written off,

(j) the amount paid or payable by the lessee as GST,

(k) the amount of delivery charges,

(l) the amount received from the sale of lottery tickets and similar tickets (other than commission on those sales).

(2) The lease is taken to provide for any underpayment or overpayment of rent (resulting from actual turnover differing from projected or presumed turnover) to be adjusted within 1 month after the lessee requests the lessor in writing for such an adjustment and provides the lessor with such information as the lessor may reasonably require to make the adjustment.

(3) The lessee may make a request for such an adjustment only once in the first 12 months of the lease term and thereafter only at intervals of not less than 12 months following the first request for an adjustment under the lease. This subsection does not prevent the lease providing for, or the parties otherwise agreeing to, more frequent adjustments than are provided for by this section.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the concept of “turnover” includes gross takings, gross receipts, gross income and similar concepts.