Relief Measure: Conditional waiver of surcharges for instalment settlement of demand notes for the Year of Assessment 2018/19

The Hong Kong Government announced on 4 December 2019 a further relief measure on tax payment. For instalment plans approved by the Inland Revenue Department allowing taxpayers in financial difficulties for settlement of Salaries Tax, Profits Tax and Personal Assessment demand notes issued between December 2019 and the year 2020 for the Year of Assessment 2018/19, provided that the instalment plans are duly adhered to, no surcharge will be imposed for a maximum period of one year counting from the respective due dates of the demand notes. If the tax demanded under the first instalment of the demand note has been settled on or before the due date and instalment plan is only granted for settlement of the tax demanded under the second instalment, the one year period will count from the due date for the second instalment.

If payments are not made according to the approved instalment plan, the instalment arrangement will be cancelled and a surcharge of not exceeding 5% on the amount then outstanding will be imposed. A further surcharge of not exceeding 10% may also be imposed on the amount of tax and 5% surcharge remaining unpaid 6 months after the date of imposition of the 5% surcharge.

The above special arrangement is applicable to Salaries Tax, Profits Tax and Personal Assessment demand notes.