Final day to pay ASIC invoices before penalties apply

Mortgage brokers and professionals in the financial sector who received invoices to recover the corporate regulator’s costs in FY2018 will need to pay their invoices by the end of play today (15 March 2019) to avoid penalties.

The penalties that apply for late payments after this date will reportedly be calculated at 20 per cent per annum of the overdue amount.

ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour said that this is the first year of the new regime, where ASIC will recover most of its regulatory costs from regulated industries. The new laws took effect on 1 July 2017.

“We want people and firms to avoid penalties for late payment and encourage them to pay their invoice by 15 March 2019,” Ms Armour said.

Organisations and individuals holding licences or operating under government laws modulated by the corporate regulator may have been issued invoices on 31 January 2019 via the ASIC Regulatory Portal to registered individuals or via mail to registered company addresses.

Ms Armour added: “Ensuring a fair, strong and efficient financial system for all Australians is our goal and is at the heart of all our regulatory activities.

“We worked closely with industry to implement the new model to recover ASIC’s cost from industry. The due date for payment of invoices is a significant milestone in this inaugural year,” she concluded.

[Related: ASIC urges industry to provide business metrics]