Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Plain Language Law homepage
402: Validation of fee used to recover costs of Registrar of New Zealand Business Numbers
or “Fee for New Zealand Business Number costs is confirmed as valid”

You could also call this:

“Confirming the legality of past fees for Companies Office services”

This law is about fees that were charged before 30 June 2022 for different registers and services run by the Companies Office. Here’s what you need to know:

The fees were used to pay for running registers under the Companies Act and other related laws. These fees are now officially valid, which means they were correctly charged.

The money collected from these fees was legally collected and used. It can still be used after 1 July 2022 to cover the costs of running the registers and other duties of the Registrar.

This law applies to fees from many different Acts, including ones about auditors, building societies, financial markets, friendly societies, incorporated societies, limited partnerships, and more.

The Companies Office is the part of the government that collected these fees. It has been part of different departments over time, like the Department of Justice and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.

When the law talks about fees, it also includes any penalties or interest charged for late payments. For the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act 2019, it also includes a special charge called a levy.

This law makes sure that all the fees collected in the past were legal and can still be used to run the Companies Office and its services.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.


Next up: 404: Purpose of imposing levies

or “Explaining why the government charges fees for using official registers”

Part 22 Miscellaneous

403Validation of fees used to recover costs of other Companies Office registers, etc

  1. This section applies to a fee—

  2. that—
    1. is or was payable or purportedly payable on or before 30 June 2022 under any of the Acts listed in subsection (4) or any regulations made under any of those Acts; and
      1. was (or is or will be) used in whole or in part to recover the costs or a share of the costs of the Registrar in operating 1 or more registers under this Act or in exercising or performing any other powers, functions, and duties of the Registrar under this Act or any regulations made under this Act; or
      2. that—
        1. is or was payable or purportedly payable on or before 30 June 2022 under this Act or any regulations made under this Act; and
          1. was (or is or will be) used in whole or in part to recover the costs or a share of the costs of 1 or more registers operated under any of the Acts listed in subsection (5) or in exercising or performing the powers, functions, and duties of a Registrar under any of those Acts or any regulations made under any of those Acts.
          2. The fee is and always has been validly imposed.

          3. Money received by the Registrar of any register maintained by the Companies Office in payment of the fee—

          4. is and always has been lawfully collected and applied; and
            1. may continue to be applied on and after 1 July 2022 to recover costs referred to in subsection (1)(a)(ii) and (b)(ii).
              1. The Acts are—

              2. the Auditor Regulation Act 2011:
                1. the Building Societies Act 1965:
                  1. the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013:
                    1. the Financial Reporting Act 1993:
                      1. the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008:
                        1. the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982:
                          1. the Incorporated Societies Act 1908:
                            1. the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act 2019:
                              1. the Limited Partnerships Act 2008:
                                1. the Personal Property Securities Act 1999:
                                  1. the Retirement Villages Act 2003:
                                    1. the Securities Act 1978.
                                      1. The Acts are—

                                      2. the Auditor Regulation Act 2011:
                                        1. the Building Societies Act 1965:
                                          1. the Charitable Trusts Act 1957:
                                            1. the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013:
                                              1. the Financial Reporting Act 1993:
                                                1. the Financial Reporting Act 2013:
                                                  1. the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008:
                                                    1. the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982:
                                                      1. the Incorporated Societies Act 1908:
                                                        1. the Incorporated Societies Act 2022:
                                                          1. the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1908:
                                                            1. the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act 2019:
                                                              1. the Limited Partnerships Act 2008:
                                                                1. the New Zealand Business Number Act 2016:
                                                                  1. the Personal Property Securities Act 1999:
                                                                    1. the Retirement Villages Act 2003:
                                                                      1. the Securities Act 1978.
                                                                        1. In this section,—

                                                                          Companies Office means the division or part of each of the following departments (formerly or currently in existence) that collected or collects fees under this Act or any of the Acts listed in subsections (4) and (5):

                                                                          1. the former Department of Justice:
                                                                            1. the former Ministry of Commerce:
                                                                              1. the former Ministry of Economic Development:
                                                                                1. the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment

                                                                                  fee

                                                                                  1. includes any penalty or overdue fee imposed, or interest charged, in respect of an unpaid or overdue fee; and
                                                                                    1. in relation to the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act 2019, includes a levy imposed under section 81 of that Act.

                                                                                    Notes
                                                                                    • Section 403: inserted, on , by section 9 of the Companies Office Registers Funding Validation Act 2022 (2022 No 27).