| (2) | An auditee must settle the account for audit fees within 30 days from the date of invoice, failing which the Auditor-General must promptly take legal steps to recover the amount, unless it is not practical to do so. |
| (3) | The Auditor-General may charge interest on any audit account not paid within 30 days of the date of the account at the rate prescribed in terms of section 1(2) of the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act, 1975 (Act No. 55 of 1975). |
| (4) | If an auditee defaults on the payment of audit fees, the Auditor-General must promptly notify the National Treasury and, when applicable, the relevant provincial treasury. |
| (5) | The National Treasury or the relevant provincial treasury, as may be appropriate, may, after consulting the Auditor-General, direct that audit fees recoverable from an auditee which is not a national or provincial department, be defrayed from a vote on the national or a provincial budget identified by the relevant treasury. |
| (6) | Subject to subsection (7), if— |
| (a) | the audit fee of an auditee, other than a department as defined in section 1 of the Public Finance Management Act, exceeds one percent of the total current and capital expenditure of such auditee for the relevant financial year; and |
| (b) | the National Treasury— |
| (i) | was consulted, as required by subsection (1); and |
| (ii) | is of the opinion that the auditee has financial difficulty to pay such excess, |
such excess is to be defrayed in terms of the Act that authorises the defrayment of the excess as a direct charge against the National Reserve Fund.
[Section 23(6) substituted by section 10(a) of Notice No. 1260, GG 42045, dated 20 November 2018]
| (a) | The Auditor-General and the National Treasury must agree in writing on— |
| (i) | the annual date of consultation contemplated in section 13(1A) and subsection (1); |
| (ii) | the criteria to be applied to determine whether an auditee has financial difficulty as contemplated in subsection (6)(b)(ii); and |
| (iii) | a process to determine an estimate of the funds required annually as a direct charge for the audit fees referred to in subsection (6), read with the Act that authorises the excess as a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund. |
| (b) | If the Auditor-General and the National Treasury fail to conclude a written agreement within six months after the commencement of this subsection, the oversight mechanism must, after consultation with the Auditor-General and National Treasury, determine the annual date of consultation, the criteria to determine whether an auditee has financial difficulty and the process to determine the estimate of funds as referred to in paragraph (a). |
| (c) | The annual date of consultation, the criteria to determine whether an auditee has financial difficulty or process agreed to in terms of paragraph (a) or determined by the oversight mechanism in terms of paragraph (b), may be amended in writing by the Auditor-General and the National Treasury. |
[Section 23(7) substituted by section 10(b) of Notice No. 1260, GG 42045, dated 20 November 2018]
