{"id":"C2004A00400","name":"General Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999","slug":"general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"6 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6029,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00400-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"General Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nGeneral Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999\n\nAct No. 6 of 1999 as amended\n\nThis compilation was prepared on 9 October 2006  taking into account amendments up to Act No. 101 of 2006\n\nThe text of any of those amendments not in force   on that date is appended in the Notes section\n\nThe operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be   affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section\n\nPrepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,  Attorney‑General’s Department, Canberra\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title [see Note 1]...........................1\n\n2 Commencement [see Note 1].......................1\n\n3 Imposition..................................1\n\nNotes 7\n\n \n\nAn Act to impose general interest charge as a tax in some circumstances\n\n1  Short title [see Note 1]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the General Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999.\n\n2  Commencement [see Note 1]\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Imposition\n\n (1) General interest charge is imposed as a tax by this section, but only to the extent to which that charge cannot validly be imposed otherwise than as a tax.\n\n (2) In this section:\n\ngeneral interest charge means the charge worked out under Part IIA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953.\n\nNotes to the General Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999\n\nNote 1\n\nThe General Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 6, 1999 amended as indicated in the Tables below.\n\nFor all relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions see Table A.\n\nTable of Acts\n\n| Act | Number   and year | Date   of Assent | Date of commencement | Application, saving or transitional provisions |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| General Interest Charge (Imposition) Act 1999 | 6, 1999 | 31 Mar 1999 | 31 Mar 1999 |  |\n| Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006 | 101, 2006 | 14 Sept 2006 | Schedule 2 (items 1017, 1022) and Schedule 6 (items 1, 6–11): Royal Assent | Sch. 6 (items 1, 6–11) |\n\n\n \n\nTable of Amendments\n\n- ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted\n- Provision affected How affected\n- S. 3.................... am. No. 101, 2006\n\nTable A\n\nApplication, saving or transitional provisions\n\nTax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006 (No. 101, 1997)\n\nSchedule 6\n\n1  Application of Schedule 1 and 2 amendments\n\nExcept as mentioned in items 2 and 3, the repeals and amendments made by Schedules 1 and 2 apply:\n\n (a) so far as they affect assessments—to assessments for the 2006‑07 income year and all later income years; and\n\n (b) otherwise—to acts done or omitted to be done, or states of affairs existing, after the commencement of the repeals and amendments.\n\n6  Object\n\nThe object of this Part is to ensure that, despite the repeals and amendments made by this Act, the full legal and administrative consequences of:\n\n (a) any act done or omitted to be done; or\n\n (b) any state of affairs existing; or\n\n (c) any period ending;\n\nbefore such a repeal or amendment applies, can continue to arise and be carried out, directly or indirectly through an indefinite number of steps, even if some or all of those steps are taken after the repeal or amendment applies.\n\n7  Making and amending assessments, and doing other things, in relation to past matters\n\nEven though an Act is repealed or amended by this Act, the repeal or amendment is disregarded for the purpose of doing any of the following under any Act or legislative instrument (within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003):\n\n (a) making or amending an assessment (including under a provision that is itself repealed or amended);\n\n (b) exercising any right or power, performing any obligation or duty or doing any other thing (including under a provision that is itself repealed or amended);\n\nin relation to any act done or omitted to be done, any state of affairs existing, or any period ending, before the repeal or amendment applies.\n\nExample 1: On 31 July 1999, Greg Ltd lodged its annual return under former section 160ARE of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The return stated that the company had a credit on its franking account and that no franking deficit tax was payable for the 1998‑99 franking year. Under former section 160ARH of that Act, the Commissioner was taken to have made an assessment consistent with the return.\n\n Following an audit undertaken after the repeal of Part IIIAA of that Act, the Commissioner concludes that Greg Ltd fraudulently overfranked dividends it paid during the 1998‑99 franking year, and had a franking account deficit for that franking year. As a result, the Commissioner considers that franking deficit tax and a penalty by way of additional tax are payable.\n\n The Commissioner can amend the assessment under former section 160ARN of that Act, because item 7 of this Schedule disregards the repeal of that section for the purposes of making an assessment in relation to the 1998‑99 franking year. Item 7 will also disregard the repeal of Division 11 of former Part IIIAA to the extent necessary for the Commissioner to assess Greg Ltd’s liability to a penalty by way of additional tax.\n\n Despite the repeal of sections 160ARU and 160ARV, item 9 will ensure that the general interest charge will accrue on the unpaid franking deficit tax and penalty until they are paid.\n\n Item 7 will also preserve Greg Ltd’s right, under former section 160ART of that Act, to object against the Commissioner’s amended assessment (including the penalty), since the objection is the exercise of a right in relation to a franking year that ended before the repeal of Part IIIAA.\n\nExample 2: During the 1997‑98 income year, Duffy Property Ltd withheld amounts from its employees’ wages as required by former Divisions 1AAA and 2 of Part VI of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The company failed to notify the Commissioner of those amounts, and failed to remit them to the Commissioner.\n\n Following an audit undertaken after the repeal of those Divisions, the Commissioner discovers that the withheld amounts have not been remitted. The company’s records are incomplete and the Commissioner is unable to completely ascertain the extent of its liability for the withheld amounts. Under section 222AGA of that Act, the Commissioner makes an estimate of the liability.\n\n Item 7 will disregard the repeal of section 220AAZA of that Act (which empowered the Commissioner to recover the amount of the estimate). Even though the estimate is made after the repeal, it relates to amounts withheld before the repeal.\n\n8  Saving of provisions about effect of assessments\n\nIf a provision or part of a provision that is repealed or amended by this Act deals with the effect of an assessment, the repeal or amendment is disregarded in relation to assessments made, before or after the repeal or amendment applies, in relation to any act done or omitted to be done, any state of affairs existing, or any period ending, before the repeal or amendment applies.\n\n9  Saving of provisions about general interest charge, failure to notify penalty or late reconciliation statement penalty\n\nIf:\n\n (a) a provision or part of a provision that is repealed or amended by this Act provides for the payment of:\n\n (i) general interest charge, failure to notify penalty or late reconciliation statement penalty (all within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936); or\n\n (ii) interest under the Taxation (Interest on Overpayments and Early Payments) Act 1983; and\n\n (b) in a particular case, the period in respect of which the charge, penalty or interest is payable (whether under the provision or under the Taxation Administration Act 1953) has not begun, or has begun but not ended, when the provision is repealed or amended;\n\nthen, despite the repeal or amendment, the provision or part continues to apply in the particular case until the end of the period.\n\n10  Repeals disregarded for the purposes of dependent provisions\n\nIf the operation of a provision (the subject provision) of any Act or legislative instrument (within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003) made under any Act depends to any extent on an Act, or a provision of an Act, that is repealed by this Act, the repeal is disregarded so far as it affects the operation of the subject provision.\n\n11  Schedule does not limit operation of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901\n\nThis Schedule does not limit the operation of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Section 3 was amended (see Table of Amendments: s.3 am. No. 101, 2006). The amendment re‑states that GIC is a tax only insofar as it cannot be validly imposed otherwise (s 3(1)–(2)). The 2006 Act's Schedule 6 and Table A include saving and transitional provisions that preserve assessments, rights and the accrual of GIC for periods before the amendment (Schedule 6, items 6–9; Table A), so the statutory wording changed but prior liabilities and administrative consequences are preserved."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single‑purpose text: only three sections (low drafting complexity but limited detail).","Cross‑reference complexity: definition of GIC points to Part IIA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953, requiring users to consult another Act to know calculation and administrative rules (s 3(2)).","Legal validity clause: GIC is imposed 'only to the extent to which that charge cannot validly be imposed otherwise than as a tax' — triggers constitutional and statutory validity analysis in disputes (s 3(1)).","Amendment history: section 3 was amended by Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006, so interpretation may require reviewing historical and amending texts (Table of Amendments).","Transitional and saving provisions: Schedule 6 and Table A to the 2006 Act preserve legal and administrative consequences for past acts and assessments, adding retrospective-application complexity (Table A; Schedule 6, items 6–9).","Administrative implementation: who pays and how is determined by the Taxation Administration Act (administrative burden and calculation rules lie outside this short Act).","Enforcement and dispute pathway ambiguity: by recategorising the charge as a tax, procedural consequences (assessment, objection, collection) may change and require cross‑checking other statutes (s 3)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act declares that the General Interest Charge (GIC) — the interest worked out under Part IIA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 — is imposed as a tax, but only to the extent it cannot validly be imposed otherwise. It therefore affects people and entities who owe GIC under the tax system. Classifying the GIC as a tax changes the legal basis for collection and dispute processes and ties payment obligations and calculation to Part IIA (see s 3(1)–(2))."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose. It was enacted in 1999 solely to impose the general interest charge as a tax for constitutional validity, and the 2006 amendments (Table A) were purely technical repeals of inoperative provisions with saving provisions to preserve past liabilities. The scope has not expanded beyond this narrow technical function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short — only 3 operative sections (Short title, Commencement, Imposition)","Single substantive provision (section 3) with only 2 subsections","Only 1 defined term ('general interest charge') which simply cross-references another Act","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions in the operative text","Heavy reliance on external legislation (*Taxation Administration Act 1953*) for actual substance","Constitutional contingency language ('only to the extent') adds slight interpretive complexity but is standard drafting"],"plain_english_summary":"This short Act declares the ATO’s general interest charge on late tax payments to be a tax, creating a constitutional fallback so the Commonwealth can lawfully impose interest if other bases fail.  \n\nIt affects anyone who pays tax late by ensuring interest on overdue tax debts is authorised as a tax—preserving the ATO’s ability to collect such charges without altering rates or calculation methods (those remain in the Taxation Administration Act 1953)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999","history":"/api/acts/general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/general-interest-charge-imposition-act-1999/documents"}}