A regional city council in Victoria is quoting the wrong Australian Business Number (ABN) on parking tickets — but it's not just a one-digit typo — it's been printing the number of a Queensland council which was last year embroiled in a corruption scandal.

Key points: The Ipswich council said it was caught unawares by the incident and had contacted the Shepparton council

The Ipswich council said it was caught unawares by the incident and had contacted the Shepparton council A leading tax expert says whoever is responsible for the use of the wrong ABN could potentially face severe penalties

A leading tax expert says whoever is responsible for the use of the wrong ABN could potentially face severe penalties The Shepparton council says the wrong ABN does not invalidate the parking tickets

The entire Ipswich City Council, west of Brisbane, was dissolved and placed in the control of an interim administrator last May, pending an investigation into the conduct of some of its councillors and staff.

Since March 2019, and possibly earlier, the Ipswich council's ABN has been printed on parking tickets from metered machines in the Shepparton CBD, in north-east Victoria.

But on other official documentation from the Greater Shepparton City Council, including parking fines, rate notices and pet registrations, the correct ABN is displayed.

The ABN printed along this ticket dated from March belongs to the Ipswich City Council. ( ABC News )

National director of accounting firm BDO, Lance Cunningham, said without knowing how or why the error came to be, the council official who authorised it could face criminal charges — including one that can result in up to two years in prison on conviction.

"Prima Facie it's possible that the [Shepparton] council hasn't been paying that GST (Goods and Services Tax) because it's not its ABN," he said.

"If it has been paying the GST using its own ABN, well there's no loss of tax to the Government.

"But if they haven't been paying that, well then that's a big problem.

"Prima Facie, there's certainly some big penalties for whoever has authorised that in the council."

Over his three decades of experience as a professional tax accountant, Mr Cunningham, said he had never seen a situation like this involving local government.

"It seems very strange. I've heard of situations where people have been using the wrong ABN [but] it seems very unusual that council would be involved in this," he said.

"The only thing I can see is it's just an administrative mistake and they need to fix it very soon.

"However, if the council … is avoiding paying the GST to the ATO and diverting it elsewhere this would be a big issue."

Both councils have denied having a relationship with each other. ( ABC News )

An ABN is the number all businesses must have so the tax office can track payments and the GST.

For a regular business, using an incorrect ABN allows contractors and suppliers to dodge paying tax, costing millions in uncollected public revenue.

In 2017, it was revealed Bunnings Warehouse was among the most quoted ABNs in thousands of suspicious transactions.

The Bunnings ABN was listed on 40 per cent of invoices in the Northern Territory — mostly by tradesmen hoping to circumvent the tax office — prompting a review of the system by the black economy taskforce.

In the 2019 Federal Budget, a slew of changes were announced to the current ABN system — one of them being that tax returns must be lodged by businesses to retain their ABN.

Currently, ABN holders can keep their ABN regardless of whether they are meeting their income tax return lodgement obligation or the obligation to update their ABN details.

Tradesmen attempted to avoid tax payments by quoting the ABN of Bunnings on personal invoices. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts )

But cash transactions are much harder for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to track.

A spokesperson for the Ipswich City Council said it was caught unawares by the issue.

"Council was not aware of this, has no relationship with the Greater Shepparton City Council, and will be contacting officials there to correct this matter," the spokesperson said.

In a statement, the ATO said it "takes the integrity of the ABN system seriously" but it would not comment directly on the situation.

"It can be an offence to purport to identify yourself using an ABN that is not your own. However, we recognise that mistakes can be made and the ATO would only apply any penalties in serious or deliberate cases," an ATO spokesperson said.

Tickets still valid, Shepparton council says

The Greater Shepparton City Council said it was working to rectify the issue but did not answer the ABC's questions about how or why the error came to be.

"It has been bought (sic) to Council's attention that the ABN printed on parking tickets issued by Greater Shepparton City Council is the incorrect ABN," a council spokesperson said in a statement.

"Council has obtained legal advice on the matter. The incorrect ABN does not invalidate the parking tickets issued by Council ticket-vending machines."

The error was printed from council ticket-vending machines throughout the Shepparton CBD. ( ABC News: Rebeka Powell )

The council did not specify how long the Ipswich council's ABN had been printed on the tickets, but said it was not required to display an ABN on parking tickets at all.

"The driver is required to pay the fee and obey any instructions on the parking ticket and/or ticket-vending machine.

"There is no requirement for Council to provide an ABN for the purposes of the validity of the parking ticket relevant to Regulation 207 of the Road Safety Rules 2017."

However, tax invoices must include the identity of the seller as well as the ABN, according to the ATO.

But it is not a requirement for suppliers to issue a tax invoice for taxable goods or services that do not exceed $82.50 (including GST).

Earlier this year the Victorian Auditor-General's office conducted an audit of fraud and corruption control across four local governments in Victoria.

The report released on June 20, did not find any fraud or corruption at the Greater Shepparton City Council.