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Income Tax Act 2007

General collection rules - Withholding tax on non-resident passive income (NRWT)

RF 15: Commissioner’s power to vary amounts of tax

You could also call this:

“The Commissioner can change how much tax you pay in special cases.”

The Commissioner can change the amount of tax you must pay in special cases. You might not have to pay as much tax as you normally would, or you might have to pay a different amount. This can happen when the Commissioner looks at your situation and decides to make a change.

The Commissioner can also decide not to make you pay tax when you normally would, under certain rules like section RA 6(2). This means you might not have to withhold tax from your payments. The Commissioner has the power to make these changes.

There is one situation where the Commissioner cannot make these changes, and that is when you get interest payments with someone who lives in New Zealand, as described in section RF 12B(1). When the Commissioner does make a change, the tax rules apply as if they had been changed in that way. This means the new rules are used just for your situation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1520375.

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Part R General collection rules
Withholding tax on non-resident passive income (NRWT)

RF 15Commissioner’s power to vary amounts of tax

  1. For the purposes of meeting the special circumstances of a case or class of cases, the Commissioner may—

  2. relieve a person from an obligation to withhold NRWT under section RA 6(2) (Withholding and payment obligations for passive income), RF 3, RF 4, or RF 10; or
    1. vary the amount of tax that a person must withhold under section RA 6(2).

      1. This section does not apply to an amount of tax for a payment of interest derived jointly with a person resident in New Zealand as described in section RF 12B(1).

      2. On the exercise of a power under subsection (1), the NRWT rules apply in the particular case as if they were amended in the way in which the power is exercised.

      Compare
      Notes
      • Section RF 15(2): amended (with effect on 1 April 2008), on , by section 130(1) (and see section 130(2) for application) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024–25, Emergency Response, and Remedial Measures) Act 2025 (2025 No 9).