Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TAXATION LAWS AMENDMENT ACT 1984No. 123, 1984 - SECT 15

15. Section 81 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is
substituted: Penalty for unpaid duty or tax

"81. (1) If any duty or tax remains unpaid after the time when it became due
and payable or would, but for sub-section 9 (2) or (3), have become due and
payable, an additional amount is due and payable by way of penalty by the
person liable to pay the duty or tax at the rate of 20% per annum on the
amount unpaid, computed from that time or, where the Commissioner has, under
sub-section 9 (2), extended the time for payment of the duty or tax for a
period or has, under sub-section 9 (3), permitted the payment of the duty or
tax to be made by instalments, from such date as the Commissioner determines,
not being a date prior to the date on which the duty or tax was originally due
and payable.

"(2) Where an additional amount is payable by a person under this section in
relation to an amount of duty or tax and-

   (a)  the Commissioner is satisfied that-

        (i)    the circumstances that contributed to the delay in payment of
               the duty or tax were not due to, or caused directly or
               indirectly by, an act or omission of the person; and

        (ii)   the person has taken reasonable action to mitigate, or mitigate
               the effects of, those circumstances;

   (b)  the Commissioner is satisfied that-

        (i)    the circumstances that contributed to the delay in payment of
               the duty or tax were due to, or caused directly or indirectly
               by, an act or omission of the person;

        (ii)   the person has taken reasonable action to mitigate, or mitigate
               the effects of, those circumstances; and

        (iii)  having regard to the nature of those circumstances, it would be
               fair and reasonable to remit the additional amount or part of
               the additional amount; or

   (c)  the Commissioner is satisfied that there are special circumstances by
        reason of which it would be fair and reasonable to remit the
        additional amount or part of the additional amount, the Commissioner
        may remit the additional amount or part of the additional amount.

"(3) Where judgment is given by, or entered in, a court for the payment of-

   (a)  an amount of duty or tax; or

   (b)  an amount that includes an amount of duty or tax, then-

   (c)  the duty or tax shall not be taken, for the purposes of sub-section
        (1), to have ceased to be due and payable by reason only of the giving
        or entering of the judgment; and

   (d)  if the judgment debt carries interest, the additional amount that
        would, but for this paragraph, be payable under this section in
        relation to the duty or tax shall, by force of this paragraph, be
        reduced by-

        (i)    in a case to which paragraph (a) applies-the amount of the
               interest; or

        (ii)   in a case to which paragraph (b) applies-an amount that bears
               the same proportion to the amount of the interest as the amount
               of the duty or tax bears to the amount of the judgment debt.

"(4) A reference in this section to duty or tax includes a reference to an
additional amount payable under section 70.".