Division of Revenue Act, 2023 (Act No. 5 of 2023)Chapter 3 : Conditional Allocations to Provinces and MunicipalitiesPart 3 : Matters relating to Schedule 4 to 7 allocations17. Withholding of allocations |
| (1) | Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a transferring officer may withhold the transfer of a Schedule 4 or 5 allocation, or any portion thereof, for a period not exceeding 30 days, if— |
| (a) | the province or municipality does not comply with any provision of this Act; |
| (b) | roll-overs of conditional allocations approved by the National Treasury in terms of section 21 have not been spent; or |
| (c) | there is significant under-expenditure on previous transfers during the 2023/24 financial year. |
| (2) | If an allocation is withheld in terms of subsection (1), it suspends the applicable payment schedule, approved in terms of section 22(3), until it is amended in terms of section 23. |
| (3) | The amount withheld in terms of this section in the case of the Human Resources and Training Grant or the National Tertiary Services Grant listed in Part A of Schedule 4 may not exceed five per cent of the next transfer as contained in the relevant payment schedule. |
| (4) | A transferring officer must, at least seven working days before withholding an allocation in terms of subsection (1)— |
| (a) | give the relevant receiving officer— |
| (i) | notice of the intention to withhold the allocation; and |
| (ii) | an opportunity to submit written representations as to why the allocation should not be withheld; and |
| (b) | inform the relevant provincial treasury and the National Treasury, and in respect of any conditional allocation to a municipality, also the provincial department responsible for local government of the withholding. |
| (5) | A notice envisaged in subsection (4)(a)(i) must include the reasons for withholding the allocation and the intended duration of the withholding to inform the amendment of the payment schedule in terms of section 23. |
(6)
| (a) | The National Treasury may instruct, or approve a request from, the transferring officer to withhold an allocation in terms of subsection (1) for a period of 30 to 120 days, if the withholding shall— |
| (i) | facilitate compliance with this Act; or |
| (ii) | minimise the risk of under-spending by the relevant provincial department or municipality. |
| (b) | When requesting the withholding of an allocation in terms of this subsection, a transferring officer must submit to the National Treasury proof of compliance with subsection (4) and any representations received from the receiving officer. |
| (c) | The transferring officer must comply with subsection (4) when the National Treasury instructs or approves a request by the transferring officer in terms of paragraph (a). |