Nov 25, 1999
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Nov 25, 1999 |
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Student loan penalty disputed
WHILE THE Director General of Tax Administration and some lawyers have questioned the legality of the Students' Loan Bureau's (SLB) actions, that agency insists it has the right to use delinquent borrowers' Taxpayer Registration Numbers (TRNs) to force them to pay up their debts. The SLB has said its position is based on a declaration on application forms signed by all potential borrowers. The declaration states that the borrower agrees to "a non-disclosure waiver which will allow the SLB, in the event of my defaulting on my obligation to repay all debts (including interest), to publish or disclose my name in print or electronic media; and to take other measures for the recovery of the debt, as the Minister of Finance, may from time to time approve." In an advertisement published in the press over the weekend, the Bureau warned that the worst delinquents "are now in danger of having all transactions requiring the use of a TRN blocked." These transactions include obtaining or renewing a driver's licence, licensing a motor vehicle, transferring ownership of a vehicle and other revenue-related transactions. However, yesterday, Director General of Tax Administration, Clive Nicholas, said he has no knowledge that the TRN can be used by the SLB in this way. He said he was aware that it could be used to facilitate revenue collection, but was not aware that it could be used by agencies like the Bureau. Some lawyers have also expressed concern about the legality of this action, noting that the transactions to be blocked have nothing to do with the functioning of the SLB. While the TRN can be used to block transactions with a government agency if checks reveal that the individual or business owes other government agencies revenue, the lawyers said they were unsure if the SLB fell in the same category as these agencies. Citing the declaration on applications however, SLB Executive Director Lenice Barnett said that the Bureau, working with relevant government agencies, could and would use TRNs to block transactions in an effort to force "hard-core delinquents" to pay up. She said this method would only be used on delinquent borrowers who are in arrears for over a year and who have not contacted the SLB or the commercial bank which granted the loan or responded to efforts to contact them. Mrs. Barnett said the advertisement was a warning and that delinquent borrowers would be given four to seven weeks to respond before action was taken. Earlier this year the Bureau published the photographs of 20 delinquent borrowers as part of its collection drive. "This is not new. We have been saying in the media, in our letters, through the banks that after publishing the pictures, the next step for those who do not respond is the use of the TRN," she said. |
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