INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT ACT 1936 (ARCHIVE)

PART VI - COLLECTION AND RECOVERY OF TAX  

Division 1 - General  

SECTION 218   COMMISSIONER MAY COLLECT TAX FROM PERSON OWING MONEY TO TAXPAYER  

218(1)   [Commissioner's notice]  

The Commissioner may at any time, or from time to time, by notice in writing (a copy of which shall be forwarded to the taxpayer at his last place of address known to the Commissioner), require:

(a) any person by whom any money is due or accruing or may become due to a taxpayer;

(b) any person who holds or may subsequently hold money for or on account of a taxpayer;

(c) any person who holds or may subsequently hold money on account of some other person for payment to a taxpayer; or

(d) any person having authority from some other person to pay money to a taxpayer;

to pay to the Commissioner, either forthwith upon the money becoming due or being held, or at or within a time specified in the notice (not being a time before the money becomes due or is held):

(e) so much of the money as is sufficient to pay the amount due by the taxpayer in respect of tax or, if the amount of the money is equal to or less than the amount due by the taxpayer in respect of tax, the amount of the money; or

(f) such amount as is specified in the notice out of each payment that the person so notified becomes liable from time to time to make to the taxpayer until the amount due by the taxpayer in respect of tax is satisfied;

and may at any time, or from time to time, amend or revoke any such notice, or extend the time for making any payment in pursuance of the notice.

218(2)   [Offence]  

Any person who refuses or fails to comply with any notice under this section is guilty of an offence.

Penalty: $1,000.

218(3)   [Court's power to order payment]  

Where a person (in this subsection referred to as the ``convicted person'' ) is convicted before a court of an offence against subsection (2) in relation to the refusal or failure of the convicted person or another person to comply with a notice under this section, the court may, in addition to imposing a penalty on the convicted person, order the convicted person to pay to the Commissioner an amount not exceeding the amount or the aggregate of the amounts, as the case requires, that the convicted person or the other person, as the case may be, refused or failed to pay to the Commissioner in accordance with the notice.

218(4)   [Indemnity]  

Any person making any payment in pursuance of this section shall be deemed to have been acting under the authority of the taxpayer and of all other persons concerned and is hereby indemnified in respect of such payment.

218(5)   [Notice of receipt]  

If the Commissioner receives any payment in respect of the amount due by the taxpayer before payment is made by the person so notified he shall forthwith give notice thereof to that person.

218(6)   [Money held by co-operative housing societies]  

Where:

(a) money has been paid by a person to a co-operative housing society in respect of the issue of withdrawable shares in the capital of the society; and

(b) the money has not been repaid;

the money shall, for the purposes of this section, be taken:

(c) in a case where the money is repayable on demand - to be due by the co-operative housing society to the person; or

(d) in any other case - to be money that may become due by the co-operative housing society to the person.

218(6A)   [Money repayable on demand]  

Where, but for this subsection, money is not due, or repayable on demand, to a person unless a condition is fulfilled, the money shall be taken, for the purposes of this section, to be due, or repayable on demand, as the case may be, to the person notwithstanding that the condition has not been fulfilled.

218(6B)   [Definitions]  

In this section:

"building society"

co-operative housing society
means a society registered or incorporated as a co-operative housing society or similar society under a law of a State or Territory.

"person"
includes a company, a partnership, the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory and any public authority (whether incorporated or unincorporated) of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory;

"tax"
includes:

(a) additional tax under Part VII ;

(ab) the general interest charge under a provision of this Act;

(b) an amount that a person is liable to pay to the Commissioner under Division 1AAA , 1AA , 1A , 1B , 1C , 2 , 3 , 3A , 3B , 4 , 8 or 9 ;

(ba) an amount of interest that a person is liable to pay to the Commissioner under section 102AAM ;

(c) a judgment debt or costs in respect of:

(i) tax;

(ii) additional tax under Part VII ;

(iia) the general interest charge under a provision of this Act;

(iii) an amount that a person is liable to pay to the Commissioner under Division 1AAA , 1AA , 1A , 1B , 1C , 2 , 3 , 3A , 3B , 4 , 8 or 9 ; or

(iv) an amount of interest that a taxpayer is liable to pay to the Commissioner under section 102AAM ;

(d) any fine or costs imposed by a court in respect of:

(i) an offence against this Act or the regulations; or

(ii) any other taxation offence within the meaning of Part III of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 that relates to this Act or the regulations; or

(e) any amount ordered by a court, upon the conviction of a person for an offence of a kind referred to in paragraph (d), to be paid by the person to the Commissioner;

Note 1:

The general interest charge is worked out under Division 1 of Part IIA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 .

Note 2:

Subsection 8AAB(4) of that Act lists the provisions that apply the charge.

"taxpayer"
includes a person who is liable to pay an amount to the Commissioner under Division 1AA , 1A , 1B , 1C , 2 , 3 , 3A , 3B , 4 , 8 or 9 .

218(7)   [Service of notice]  

Any notice to be given under this section to the Commonwealth or a State may be served upon such person as is prescribed, and any notice so served shall be deemed to have been served upon the Commonwealth or a State, as the case may be.

218(8)   Application.  

The Commissioner must not issue a notice under this section (including the extended operation that this section has because of any provision of this or any other Act) on or after 1 July 2000.

Example:

Subsection 160ARW(1) provides for an extended operation of this section in respect of franking deficit tax, deficit deferral tax or franking additional tax. The Commissioner therefore must not exercise his or her power under this section because of that extended operation on or after 1 July 2000.

Note:

For provisions about collection and recovery of tax and other amounts on or after 1 July 2000 (including provisions on collecting an amount from a third person), see Part 4-15 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 .