Fire Brigades Act 1989

The Commissioner must give to each insurance company that made or is required to make a fire brigade contribution for the final year of the scheme a final assessment notice for that year.

The final assessment notice must state the following—

the final contribution payable by the insurance company for the final year of the scheme,

the amount of any fire brigade contribution already paid by the insurance company for that financial year including, if paid in instalments, the total of all instalments already paid (the total contribution already paid),

if the final contribution payable by the insurance company exceeds the total contribution already paid—

the difference between those amounts (a contribution deficit), and

the date by which the contribution deficit must be paid to the Commissioner (being a date that is no earlier than 30 days after the assessment notice is given to the insurance company),

if the total contribution already paid exceeds the final contribution payable by the insurance company—the difference between those amounts (a contribution surplus).

If the assessment notice specifies a contribution deficit, the insurance company must pay the contribution deficit to the Commissioner.

The contribution deficit is payable to the Commissioner by the date for payment specified in the assessment notice or any later date permitted by the Commissioner.

If an insurance company fails to pay a contribution deficit in full by the date on which it is payable to the Commissioner, the applied provisions of the Taxation Administration Act 1996 apply to the unpaid amount as if the unpaid amount were a tax and this Act were a taxation law.

The applied provisions of the Taxation Administration Act 1996 are the following provisions of that Act—

Division 1 (Interest) of Part 5,

Division 2 (Penalty tax) of Part 5 (except sections 28–30),

any provisions that are relevant to the interpretation of the above provisions.

For the purpose of the applied provisions of the Taxation Administration Act 1996—

a tax default is taken to occur if the contribution deficit is not paid in full by the date on which it is payable, and

a reference to the Chief Commissioner is to be read as a reference to the Commissioner under this Act.

If a contribution deficit, or any part of a contribution deficit, is not paid in full by an insurance company to the Commissioner by the date on which it is payable, the unpaid amount and any interest and penalty tax payable on the unpaid amount—

constitutes a debt due and payable to the Commissioner, and

may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Commissioner.

A contribution deficit is to be paid into the Fund.

If the assessment notice specifies a contribution surplus, the Commissioner is to refund the amount of the contribution surplus to the insurance company no later than 30 June 2018.

A refund is to be paid from the Fund.