When an Engineer must certify and an Employer must pay under the FIDIC 2017 Red Book, and how financing charges and the 21-day suspension Notice work.
Under the FIDIC 2017 Red Book the Engineer must issue an Interim Payment Certificate (IPC) within 28 days of receiving your Statement (sub-clause 14.6). The Employer must pay the certified amount within 56 days of the Engineer receiving that same Statement (sub-clause 14.7).
If payment is late, financing charges run automatically (sub-clause 14.8). If you want to suspend work, you must first give the Employer at least 21 days' Notice (sub-clause 16.1). FIDIC counts calendar days, so weekends and public holidays count.
The cycle starts with your Statement, submitted to the Engineer at the end of each payment period in the Contract Data, or monthly if none is stated. It must be in a form the Engineer accepts and come with the supporting documents, including the progress report.
Keep proof of the date the Engineer received the Statement and documents. Both the 28-day and the 56-day clocks run from that date, not from the date of the IPC.
The Engineer must, within 28 days of receiving the Statement and supporting documents, issue the IPC to the Employer and to you. It states the amount the Engineer fairly considers due, with reasons for any difference from your Statement.
An IPC need not be issued until the Employer has received the Performance Security and you have appointed the Contractor's Representative. Otherwise the Engineer may withhold amounts only on the grounds the sub-clause allows, not the whole certificate for some other reason. A failure to certify is itself a ground for suspension under 16.1.
The Employer must pay the amount certified in each IPC within 56 days after the Engineer received the Statement and supporting documents. A late IPC does not move this date.
If you are not paid by the 14.7 date, you are entitled to financing charges, compounded monthly, on the unpaid amount for the period of delay. The period starts on the 14.7 payment date, whenever the IPC was issued.
The rate is the one in the Contract Data; if none is stated, it is 3% above the average short-term lending rate to prime borrowers for the currency at the place of payment. You do not need to give a Notice or follow Clause 20 to be entitled to these charges, but include them in your next Statement so they are certified.
If the Employer fails to pay under 14.7 (or the Engineer fails to certify under 14.6), you may suspend work or reduce the rate of work, but only after giving the Employer not less than 21 days' Notice. The suspension lasts until you receive the certificate or payment.
The Notice goes to the Employer; copying the Engineer is good practice. Under sub-clause 1.3 it must be in writing, identified as a Notice and refer to the sub-clause it is given under.
The contract sets no deadline for this Notice. Sakhani recommends sending it within 7 days of the missed payment date, because the 21 days only start once it is received.
If suspension causes you delay or cost, any extension of time and Cost Plus Profit is subject to sub-clause 20.2, so a separate Notice of Claim to the Engineer is needed for that.
Assume the Engineer receives your Statement No. 7 and supporting documents on Friday 30 January 2026. All periods are calendar days, and South African public holidays do not stop the count. In this example that includes Human Rights Day (observed Monday 23 March), Good Friday (3 April) and Family Day (6 April).
There is no time bar on the 16.1 Notice and financing charges accrue anyway, but every day you delay it is a day later before you may lawfully suspend.
Suspending without a valid Notice, or before the 21 days have run, could expose you to a claim by the Employer, so take advice before you stop work.
The description above is of the standard 2017 conditions. Your signed contract's Particular Conditions and Contract Data govern over them, and payment periods, financing charge rates and Notice addresses are often changed, particularly by public-sector employers. Read those first.
This guide explains the standard conditions; it is not legal advice.
Sakhani reads your signed contract, including the Particular Conditions and Contract Data. It counts the days from the date the Engineer received each Statement and reminds the people responsible before the IPC and payment dates. If a payment date passes, it drafts the 16.1 Notice for a person to check and send. See how it works or our FIDIC page.
See every FIDIC notice with its clause, period and addressee, or let Sakhani read your signed contract and keep the clocks for you.