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Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962)

Notices

2022 Notices

Agreements

African Tax Administration Forum Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters

Article 7 : Assistance in Collection

 

1. The Requested Party shall, upon request, lend assistance to the Requesting Party in the collection of revenue claims.

 

2. The term “revenue claim” as used in this Article means an amount owed in respect of taxes that are covered by this Agreement, as well as interest, duty increases, surcharges, late-payment penalties and costs of collection or conservancy related to such amount in terms of its domestic laws, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to any other instrument entered into between the Requesting Party and the Requested Party.

 

3. When a revenue claim of a Contracting Party is enforceable under the laws of that Party and is owed by a person who, at that time, cannot, under the laws of that Party, prevent its collection, that revenue claim shall, at the request of the Competent Authority of that Party, be accepted for purposes of collection by the Competent Authority of the Requested Party. That revenue claim shall be collected by that Requested Party in accordance with the provisions of its laws applicable to the enforcement and collection of its own taxes as if the revenue claim were a revenue claim of that Requested Party.

 

4. When a revenue claim of a Contracting Party is a claim in respect of which that Party may, under its law, take measures of conservancy with a view to ensure its collection, that revenue claim shall, at the request of that Party, be accepted for purposes of taking measures of conservancy by the Competent Authority of the Requested Party. The Requested Party shall take measures of conservancy in respect of that revenue claim in accordance with the provisions of its laws as if the revenue claim were a revenue claim of the Requested Party even if, at the time when such measures are applied, the revenue claim is not enforceable in the first-mentioned Party or is owed by a person who has a right to prevent its collection.

 

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4, a revenue claim accepted by a Requested Party for purposes of paragraph 3 or 4 shall not, in that Party, be subject to the time limits or accorded any priority applicable to a revenue claim under the laws of that Party by reason of its nature as such. In addition, a revenue claim accepted by a Requested Party for the purposes of paragraph 3 or 4, shall not in that Party, have any priority applicable to that revenue claim under the laws of the Requesting Party.

 

6. Proceedings with respect to the existence, validity or the amount of a revenue claim of a Requesting Party shall not be brought before the courts or administrative bodies of the Requested Party.

 

7. Where, at any time after a request has been made by a Requesting Party under paragraph 3 or 4 and before the Requested Party has collected and remitted the relevant revenue claim to the Requesting Party, the relevant revenue claim ceases to be
(a) in the case of a request under paragraph 3, a revenue claim of the Requesting Party that is enforceable under the laws of that Party and is owed by a person who, at that time, cannot, under the laws of that Party, prevent its collection, or
(b) in the case of a request under paragraph 4, a revenue claim of the Requesting Party in respect of which that Party may, under its laws, take measures of conservancy with a view to ensure its collection

the Competent Authority of the Requesting Party shall promptly notify the Competent Authority of the Requested Party of that fact and, at the option of the Requested Party, the Requesting Party shall either suspend or withdraw its request.

 

8. In no case shall the provisions of this Article be construed so as to impose on a Contracting Party the obligation:
(a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the administrative practice of that or of the Requesting Party;
(b) to carry out measures which would be contrary to public policy;
(c) to provide assistance if the Requesting Party has not pursued all reasonable measures of collection or conservancy, as the case may be, available under its laws or administrative practice;
(d) to provide assistance in those cases where the administrative burden of that Party is clearly disproportionate to the benefit to be derived by the Requesting Party.