Consequences for late payment or non-payment of duty
Duties are payable notwithstanding you may have lodged an objection to the assessment.
IRAS may take the following actions if you fail to pay by the due date:
- Impose late payment penalties
- Appoint agents like the club’s bank, tenant or lawyer to recover the overdue duty
- Take legal action
The above list is not exhaustive.
Late Payment Penalty
A 5% late payment penalty will be imposed on the unpaid duty if full payment is not received by the payment due date.
Example 1: Penalty imposed for late payment
Club X conducted a lottery on 1 Aug 2022. The due date for the duty payable of $10,000 is 15 Sep 2022 (15th of the month following the end of the month the club had conducted the lottery). As the club did not pay the duty by 15 Sep 2022, a 5% late payment penalty of $500 (i.e. 5% x $10,000) was imposed.
| Lottery Date | Duty Due Date | Duty Payable | 5% Late Payment Penalty Imposed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 2022 | 15 Sep 2022 | $10,000 | $500 |
Example 2: Penalties and refunds when an objection is filed
Club Y received an estimated NOA, with a duty payable of $10,000, dated 16 Sep 2022.
Club Y filed an objection and did not pay the duty. As no payment was received by the due date of 15 Sep 2022, a 5% late payment penalty of $500 was imposed.
Club Y paid the duty and penalty on 20 Sep 2022. On 20 Oct 2022, the Assessment was amended to $1,300 and the late payment penalty was revised to $65 (5% late payment penalty on $1,300) accordingly. A refund of $9,135 was made to Club Y.
| Date of NOA | Duty Due Date | Duty Amount | 5% Late Payment Penalty Imposed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 2022 | 15 Sep 2022 | $10,000 | $500 |
| 20 Oct 2022 | 15 Sep 2022 | ($8,700) | ($435) |
| Revised Duty and 5% Penalty | $1,300 | $65 |
Example 3: Penalty imposed for continued late payment
Club Z did not pay the duty payable of $10,000 by the due date and received a late payment penalty notice dated 16 Sep 2022 informing the club of the overdue duty and the 5% late payment penalty.
If the duty remained unpaid 1 month after the imposition of the 5% late payment penalty, an additional penalty of 5% may be imposed for each completed month that the tax remained unpaid, up to 50% of the unpaid duty.
Club Z eventually paid the duty and penalties on 23 Dec 2022.
The total penalty imposed was $2,000 (i.e. 5% penalty x $10,000 plus 5% additional penalty x $10,000 x 3 completed months from 16 Sep to 16 Dec 2022).
| Late Payment Penalty Notice Date | Payment Date | 5% Penalty Imposed | Additional 5% Penalty Imposed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 2022 | 23 Dec 2022 | $500 ($10,000 x 5%) | $1,500 ($10,000 x 5% x 3) |
Appealing for waiver of late payment penalty
Appeals must be made via email to [email protected]
Appeals will only be considered if:
- You have paid the overdue duty in full, by the due date as stated in the late payment penalty notice; and
- No waiver has been granted in the past 6 months up to date
Appointment of agents
If the duty remains unpaid, IRAS may appoint agents like the club’s bank, tenant, lawyer or other 3rd parties with money due to the club to recover the duties owing.
When the club’s bank is appointed as the agent, you will experience inconvenience in using the bank accounts (e.g. being unable to access your bank accounts) until you have fully paid the duty.
Requests made for release of the banks from the agent appointment after 12pm on weekdays will only be processed on the next working day while requests cannot be processed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.
Agents will be released from the appointment only after the duty and penalties have been paid in full.