Supermarket groups say they have nothing to fear from an ATO audit.

The supermarket industry says a looming tax office audit is "strange" but it has nothing to fear in the wake of the 7-Eleven underpayment scandal

The Australian Taxation Office will audit supermarkets from July to ensure they are meeting their employees' super payments.

It is not the first time supermarkets have been targeted by the ATO. 

The tax office's decision to audit supermarkets "seems strange", says industry representative Jos de Bruin

Jos de Bruin, chief executive of independent supermarket body Master Grocers Australia, said the decision to audit supermarkets "seems strange" and he was "not aware of our members having been approached for random audits by the ATO."

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"I think since the 7-Eleven business everyone's on tenterhooks, thinking, 'Am I doing the right thing?' That's fair enough. 

"But 7-Eleven is a very different model and generally speaking, our guys are in good hands."

A spokesman for the ATO said it was focused on supermarkets, bakeries, car retail and computer system design companies this year with respect to employees' superannuation, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and fringe benefits tax (FBT) obligations. 

"The ATO continues to focus on auditing employers who do not cooperate with reasonable requests to ensure employee entitlements are paid on time. The ATO targets audit activities with employers who may be at risk of not meeting their obligations," the spokesman said.

"The ATO treats the non-payment of superannuation guarantee seriously and investigates all reports made to it in relation to the non-payment of superannuation guarantee by employers."

Last year's ATO targets were child care services, building and industrial cleaning, and pubs, taverns and bars. 

The comments come as Woolworths fiercely rejected suggestions from the Fair Work Ombudsman that it had failed to appropriately respond to allegations trolley collectors at its stores have been underpaid.