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Tax Administration Act 1994

Information, record-keeping, and returns - Commissioner’s powers to obtain information - Particular information demands and inquiries

17G: Commissioner may require information from large multinational groups

You could also call this:

"The government can ask big companies for information and they must provide it."

Illustration for Tax Administration Act 1994

The Commissioner can ask a large multinational group for information. You must provide this information within three months. If you do not provide the information, or if it is misleading, the Commissioner can take action. The Commissioner will give you another month to provide the information. If you still do not provide it, the Commissioner can use the information they already have to make decisions about your taxes. You will not be able to use the missing information to dispute the Commissioner's decisions. If you dispute a decision, you cannot use the missing information as evidence unless a court says you can. A court can allow you to use the information if it would have been unfair to expect you to provide it, and if not having it would be very unfair to you. You can find more information about disputing decisions under Part 4A, Part 8, or Part 8A. The Commissioner's powers are outlined in section 17B. You must follow the rules and provide the required information to avoid any problems with your taxes.

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Part 3Information, record-keeping, and returns
Commissioner’s powers to obtain information: Particular information demands and inquiries

17GCommissioner may require information from large multinational groups

  1. This section applies when the Commissioner notifies a member of a large multinational group in an information demand that the member is required under section 17B to provide information relating to the large multinational group or to a member of the large multinational group, and the member—

  2. fails to provide by the date that is 3 months after the information demand (the demand date) a response to the information demand:
    1. provides, by the demand date, a response that the Commissioner considers to be misleading because it contains misleading information or omits relevant information:
      1. provides, by the demand date, a response that the Commissioner considers omits information, whether or not in the knowledge, possession, or control of the member, required by the information demand for the calculation of—
        1. an arm’s length amount for a cross-border transaction:
          1. an amount of profit attributable to a permanent establishment in New Zealand of the member or another member of the large multinational group:
          2. provides, by the demand date, a response that the Commissioner considers does not fulfil the requirements of the information demand.

            1. The Commissioner must notify the member by a further notice that if the member does not provide a satisfactory response to the information demand before the date (the information deadline) that is 1 month after the date of the further notice,—

            2. the Commissioner may rely on the information held by the Commissioner in exercising the Commissioner’s power to prosecute, penalise, assess, or reassess the member or other members of the large multinational group for a tax year to which the information required by the information demand relates; and
              1. information required by the information demand and not provided to the Commissioner by the information deadline will not be allowed as evidence for use by the member or other members of the large multinational group in a dispute concerning an action of the Commissioner referred to in paragraph (a).

                1. If a member of a large multinational group disputes a prosecution, imposition of a penalty, assessment, or reassessment, relating to a tax year, and information that is required by an information demand and relates to the tax year is not provided to the Commissioner before the information deadline, the information that is not the subject of a court order under subsection (4) is not—

                2. allowed as evidence for use by the member in a disputes procedure under Part 4A:
                  1. admissible as evidence for the member in proceedings under Part 8 or Part 8A, or other proceedings.

                    1. A member of a large multinational group is allowed to use information in a way that would otherwise be prevented by subsection (3) if a court or Authority—

                    2. determines that obtaining the information in response to the information demand would have required an investment by the member of time and resources that would have been unreasonable in relation to the relevance of the information to the tax issues involved; and
                      1. determines that admission of the evidence is necessary to avoid manifest injustice to the member; and
                        1. orders that the information be allowed or admissible as evidence in the proceedings.

                          Notes
                          • Section 17G: inserted, on , by section 10 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2018–19, Modernising Tax Administration, and Remedial Matters) Act 2019 (2019 No 5).