Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Customs and Excise Act 2018

Entry and exit of goods, persons, and craft - Interest and penalties for late or incorrect payments of duty, incorrect refunds of duty, and drawback incorrectly allowed - Remissions and refunds of interest and penalties

165: Interest: remissions and refunds for emergency events

You could also call this:

"Help with late duty payments due to emergencies"

Illustration for Customs and Excise Act 2018

If you are a duty payer, you might not be able to pay your duty on time because of an emergency event. This event must be so bad that it physically stops you from paying your duty before the payment date. You can be considered a duty payer if you have to pay duty to Customs.

If you cannot pay your duty on time because of the emergency event, you might have to pay interest on the duty you owe. The interest is payable under section 154 in a case covered by section 155 or section 158. You can apply to the chief executive to remit or refund the interest.

The chief executive can remit or refund the interest if they think it is fair to do so. They must also be satisfied that you applied for the remission or refund as soon as possible and that you paid the duty as soon as possible. The chief executive's decision is based on whether it is equitable to remit or refund the interest.

An emergency event is declared by regulations, which can also say who can apply for a remission or refund of interest. The regulations can apply to events that happened before they came into force, but they only last for six months unless they are replaced. You can find the meaning of payment date in section 155(2) or (4) or section 158(2).

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7245152.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Taxes
Previous

164: Statements of liability for interest and penalties, or

"When you owe money, you get a statement saying how much extra you must pay"

Next

166: Interest: remissions and refunds where inadvertent error by duty payer, or

"Mistakes on your tax form: when you don't have to pay extra interest"

Part 3Entry and exit of goods, persons, and craft
Interest and penalties for late or incorrect payments of duty, incorrect refunds of duty, and drawback incorrectly allowed: Remissions and refunds of interest and penalties

165Interest: remissions and refunds for emergency events

  1. Subsections (2) and (3) apply if—

  2. an emergency event (see subsection (4)(a)) physically prevents a person (the duty payer) from fully paying any duty to Customs before the close of the payment date (see subsection (6)); and
    1. as a result, interest is payable in respect of that duty under section 154 in a case covered by section 155 or 158; and
      1. the duty payer falls within the class, or any of the classes, of persons prescribed by the relevant regulations for the purposes of subsection (4)(b), if those regulations prescribe a class or classes of persons for those purposes.

        1. The duty payer may apply to the chief executive to remit or refund the interest.

        2. The chief executive may remit or refund the interest if the chief executive is satisfied that—

        3. it is equitable that the interest be remitted or refunded; and
          1. the duty payer applied for the remission or refund as soon as practicable; and
            1. the duty payer fully paid the duty to Customs as soon as practicable.

              1. Regulations—

              2. may declare an event that meets the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of emergency in section 4 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 to be an emergency event for the purposes of this section:
                1. may, but need not, prescribe a class or classes of persons who may apply for the remission or refunding of interest under this section in relation to the emergency event.

                  1. Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (4)—

                  2. may relate to an event that occurs before the regulations come into force; and
                    1. are revoked at the close of the 6-month period that starts with the date on which the regulations come into force (unless the regulations are revoked earlier); but
                      1. may be replaced by further regulations that are made for the purposes of subsection (4) before or after the time at which the regulations are revoked.

                        1. In this section, payment date has the meaning given to that term in section 155(2) or (4) or 158(2) (as applicable).

                        Compare