Interest is payable on tax and Class 4 NIC paid late including
tax and Class 4 NIC which have been the subject of a postponement
application. It is therefore important that taxpayers are advised
of the possible consequences of not making a realistic payment on
account when an assessment is under appeal. The notes issued with
returns and notices of assessment appeals all carry interest
warnings. The taxpayer is clearly told that interest where due,
will be charged on late payment.
If the taxpayer queries the amount of interest he is being
asked to pay he/she should be referred to the appropriate
Accounts/Receivables Office.
Interest is charged as a matter of course when tax eventually
found to be payable following an appeal to the Commissioners or to
the Courts is paid after the date indicated by the statutory rules.
If the subject of the appeal was a point which has arisen in other
cases concurrently, the hearing may have been deferred while a case
is chosen for proceedings to go forward as a test case. If an
appeal is awaiting the result of a test case and the taxpayer
applies to postpone payment of all or part of the disputed tax
explain to the taxpayer, when accepting the application, that if
the tax is eventually found to be payable the normal rules
governing the charging of interest will apply.
If an SA charge is postponed (stoodover) the reckonable date
for calculating interest is not affected but the due date is
deferred. The deferred due date is used for calculating any
surcharge.
