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Tax Administration Act 1994

Commissioner and department - Care and management of tax system - COVID-19 response variations

6H: COVID-19 response: powers to vary provisions of Inland Revenue Acts

You could also call this:

"COVID-19: Commissioner's power to change tax deadlines"

Illustration for Tax Administration Act 1994

You have a role in understanding the law. The Commissioner has a special power. This power is to change due dates or timeframes in Inland Revenue Acts. You can read more about this power in section 6I. The Commissioner uses this power when you cannot comply with the law. This is because of COVID-19 and the rules that came with it. The Commissioner's power is to help you. The Commissioner's power started on 17 March 2020. It was meant to end on 30 September 2021. But the Governor-General can extend this power if needed. You can find more information about the Unclaimed Money Act 1971. The Governor-General's order is a type of law. You can learn more about this type of law in Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019. This explains how the order is published.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS345515.

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Part 2Commissioner and department
Care and management of tax system: COVID-19 response variations

6HCOVID-19 response: powers to vary provisions of Inland Revenue Acts

  1. Section 6I provides the Commissioner with a discretionary power to extend or otherwise modify a due date, deadline, time period, or timeframe set out in an Inland Revenue Act, or to vary a procedural or administrative requirement of an Inland Revenue Act, to apply in certain circumstances and for a limited time.

  2. The purpose of section 6I is to provide the Commissioner with some flexibility to mitigate the effect of a provision of the Inland Revenue Acts when compliance is impossible, impractical, or unreasonable for a person or a class of persons in circumstances arising either from the imposition of COVID-19 response measures or as a consequence of COVID-19.

  3. The discretionary power to make a variation under section 6I supplements the powers of the Commissioner under the provisions of this Act. The power to vary a provision is intended to be used only when the Commissioner considers that an appropriate outcome is not possible or is difficult to achieve under the terms of an existing provision.

  4. Section 6I applies in relation to a variation of a provision for some or all of the period starting on 17 March 2020 and ending on 30 September 2021. However, the Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister of Revenue, extend the application of section 6I if it is reasonably necessary in the circumstances because of the continuing impact of COVID-19 related measures or circumstances.

  5. For the purpose of this section and section 6I, Inland Revenue Acts includes the Unclaimed Money Act 1971.

  6. An order under subsection (4) is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Notes
  • Section 6H: inserted (with effect on 17 March 2020), on , by section 18 of the COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Other Regulatory Urgent Measures) Act 2020 (2020 No 10).
  • Section 6H(1): amended (with effect on 17 March 2020), on , by section 3 of the COVID-19 Response (Further Management Measures) Legislation Act (No 2) 2020 (2020 No 58).
  • Section 6H(6) heading: inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).
  • Section 6H(6): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).