Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TAXATION LAWS AMENDMENT ACT 1984No. 123, 1984 - SECT 59

59. Section 31 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is
substituted: Penalty for unpaid duty

"31. (1) If any duty remains unpaid after the time when it became due and
payable or would, but for section 30, have become due and payable, additional
duty is due and payable by way of penalty by the person liable to pay the duty
at the rate of 20% per annum on the amount unpaid, computed from that time or,
where, under section 30, the Commissioner has determined that the period for
payment of the duty be extended or that payment of the duty may be made by
instalments, from such date as the Commissioner determines, not being a date
prior to the date on which the duty was originally due and payable.

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

   (a)  the Commissioner is satisfied that-

        (i)    the circumstances that contributed to the delay in payment of
               the duty 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 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 duty or part of the
               additional duty; 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 duty or part of the additional duty, the Commissioner may
        remit the additional duty or part of the additional duty.

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

   (a)  an amount of duty; or

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

   (c)  the duty 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 duty that would,
        but for this paragraph, be payable under this section in relation to
        the duty 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 bears to the amount of the judgment debt.".