6DModifications made by Order in Council

1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister of Revenue, modify the application of the Inland Revenue Acts by providing that a provision of the Inland Revenue Acts does not apply or applies with conditions.

2. A modification made under subsection (1)—

3. must specify a period for which the modification applies; and
4. must, despite section 6C(3), allow a person to whom the modification is available to choose whether or not to apply the modification by means set out in the modification; and
5. may—
   1. be subject to terms and conditions:
   2. state whether the modification applies generally or is limited to a particular class of persons or circumstances:
   3. provide for transitional, savings, and related matters; and
6. may be made by—
   1. stating an alternative means of complying with the provision:
   2. substituting a discretionary power to be exercised by the Commissioner.

7. For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), a period for which a modification applies—

8. must end no later than the end of the second income year after the income year corresponding to the tax year in which the modification comes into force; and
9. may include a period before the date on which the modification comes into force, but any period of retrospective application must not extend back more than 5 income years before the income year corresponding to the tax year in which the modification comes into force; and
10. subject to paragraph (b), may include a period before the date on which this section comes into force.

11. For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), a modification may provide that it applies to a person to whom it is available—

12. unless the person chooses not to apply it; or
13. only if the person chooses to apply it.

14. Before making a recommendation referred to in subsection (1), the Minister of Revenue must be satisfied that—

15. the modification is reasonably necessary to do 1 or more of the following:
    1. to remedy or mitigate the effect of an obvious error in a provision of the Inland Revenue Acts:
    2. to give effect to the intended purpose or object of a provision of the Inland Revenue Acts, or to resolve ambiguity:
    3. to reconcile an inconsistency between certain provisions of the Inland Revenue Acts, or between the relevant provision and an administrative practice of the Commissioner; and
16. the modification does not materially affect the intended scope or effect of the provisions to which it applies; and
17. the modification is not inconsistent with the intended purpose or object of the relevant provision; and
18. the modification is the most appropriate way of addressing or resolving the issue at the time; and
19. the extent of the modification is not broader than is reasonably necessary to address or resolve the issue that gave rise to it; and
20. for a modification that applies to a person unless they choose not to apply it, the person has a reasonable opportunity to choose not to apply it; and
21. a consultative process has been undertaken as described in section 6F, unless the Minister has dispensed with the consultative process under section 6F(3); and
22. making the modification will not, in substance, have the effect of extending the period for which a modification previously made under this section, or an exemption previously granted under section 6E, applies.

23. An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

24. The Minister of Revenue’s reasons for recommending a modification, and an explanation of the way in which the modification complies with this section, must be published together with an order under this section.