Interest and Administrative Charges Regulations

12 (1) The appropriate Minister of a department or any public officer authorized in writing by that Minister may waive an administrative charge where the administrative costs of assessing, billing and collecting the administrative charge would exceed the amount of the administrative charge.

(1.1) The appropriate Minister of a department or any public officer authorized in writing by that Minister may waive or reduce an administrative charge if the administrative charge is payable for a period during which there exists an urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature that

• (a) is so serious as to be a national or provincial emergency;

• (b) causes substantial financial hardship;

• (c) is caused by an actual or imminent fire, flood, drought, storm, earthquake or other natural phenomenon, a disease in human beings, animals or plants, an accident, pollution or an act of sabotage or terrorism; and

• (d) results, or may result, in danger to the lives, health or safety of individuals, danger to property, social disruption or a breakdown in the flow of essential goods, services or resources.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the appropriate Minister of a department or any public officer authorized in writing by that Minister may waive or reduce an administrative charge where circumstances beyond the debtor’s control, including an error made by the financial institution or other institution on which the instrument tendered in payment by the debtor is drawn, resulted in the instrument being dishonoured.

(3) When contemplating a waiver or reduction of an administrative charge under subsection (2), the appropriate Minister or the public officer shall take into consideration

• (a) the case presented by the debtor; and

• (b) the debtor’s diligence in taking action to remedy the situation.