Sec. 1215. Requirement to withhold Department of Defense assistance to Afghanistan in amount equivalent to 150 percent of all taxes assessed by Afghanistan to extent such taxes are not reimbursed by Afghanistan
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An amount equivalent to 150 percent of the total taxes assessed during fiscal year 2014 by the Government of Afghanistan on all Department of Defense assistance in violation of the status of forces agreement between the United States and Afghanistan (entered in force May 28, 2003) shall be withheld by the Secretary of Defense from obligation from funds appropriated for such assistance for fiscal year 2015 to the extent that the Secretary of Defense certifies and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that such taxes have not been reimbursed by the Government of Afghanistan to the Department of Defense or the grantee, contractor, or subcontractor concerned.
The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement in subsection
(a)if the Secretary determines that such a waiver is necessary to achieve United States goals in Afghanistan. Not later than March 1, 2015, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the total taxes assessed during fiscal year 2014 by the Government of Afghanistan on any Department of Defense assistance. The Secretary of Defense shall request submission of claims for reimbursement, including full documentation, from each grantee, contractor, or subcontractor that paid to the Government of Afghanistan taxes assessed on Department of Defense assistance during fiscal year 2014 for an amount equal to the amount the grantee, contractor, or subcontractor paid to the Government of Afghanistan in such taxes. The Secretary of Defense shall seek to establish a plan in conjunction with the Government of Afghanistan to address claims for reimbursement described in paragraph
(1)and to provide for reimbursement by the Government of Afghanistan of such claims. The Secretary shall submit any such plan established under this paragraph to the congressional defense committees in a timely manner. If the Secretary of Defense does not submit the plan described in paragraph
(2)to the congressional defense committees by not later than March 1, 2015, any funds withheld from the Government of Afghanistan pursuant to subsection
(a)shall be used to reimburse each grantee, contractor, or subcontractor that submits a claim for reimbursement under paragraph
(1)by the amount specified in such claim and verified by the Secretary. In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. The term Department of Defense assistance means funds provided in a fiscal year to Afghanistan by the Department of Defense, either directly or through grantees, contractors, or subcontractors. This section shall terminate at the close of the date on which the Secretary of Defense submits to the appropriate congressional committees a notification that the United States and Afghanistan have signed a bilateral security agreement and such agreement has entered into force.