Tax Administration Act 1994

Challenges

138D: Challenge may in exceptional circumstances be commenced after response period

You could also call this:

"You can challenge a decision late if there are very good reasons."

Illustration for Tax Administration Act 1994

You can start a challenge to a decision after the normal time limit if a hearing authority thinks there are exceptional circumstances. A hearing authority will consider this if you apply to them. They will look at whether something outside your control stopped you from starting the challenge on time. You will need to show that this event or circumstance was beyond your control and that you could not have anticipated it. You must also show that you could not have avoided its effects by being well organised. If an agent, like a lawyer, made a mistake, it is not considered an exceptional circumstance unless the mistake was caused by something outside their control. A hearing authority can allow you to start a challenge after the response period if they think exceptional circumstances apply. They make this decision after you apply to them. You can find more information about how this law was changed by looking at the Tax Administration Amendment Act (No 2) 1996.

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This page was last updated on 28 November 2025

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Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

138C: When disputant entitled to challenge disputable decision other than assessment, or

"Challenging a tax decision that you don't agree with"

138E: Certain rights of challenge not conferred, or

"You can't challenge some tax decisions made by the government."

Part 8AChallenges

138DChallenge may in exceptional circumstances be commenced after response period

If a hearing authority considers that exceptional circumstances apply, the hearing authority may, on application by a disputant, allow the disputant to commence a challenge to a notice of a disputable decision after the response period.
For the purposes of subsection (1), an exceptional circumstance is an event or circumstance beyond the control of a disputant that provides the disputant with a reasonable justification for not commencing a challenge to a disputable decision within the response period; but an act or omission of an agent of a disputant is not an exceptional circumstance unless the act or omission was caused by an event or circumstance beyond the control of the agent—
that could not have been anticipated; and
the effect of which could not have been avoided by compliance with accepted standards of business organisation and professional conduct.

Notes

Section 138D: inserted, on 1 October 1996, by section 42 of the Tax Administration Amendment Act (No 2) 1996 (1996 No 56).