MATERIALITY IN THE CASE OF VAT RETURNS
Section 45 of the Value-Added Tax Act makes provision for the payment of interest on delayed VAT refunds. In terms of section 45(1) of the Act, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) must, within 21 business days after the date on which the vendor’s return in respect of a tax period is received, refund the vendor. This is provided that […]
REVIEWING THE RECORD OF REVIEW
In a judgment delivered on 17 February 2020, the Gauteng High Court dealt with a matter regarding a “record of review”, and its relevance relating to a review application brought by the Applicant in the matter, Medtronic International (“Medtronic”), on the South African Revenue Service’s (“SARS”) refusal to reduce certain interests and penalties imposed on […]
DIESEL REFUND SCHEME MISINTERPRETATIONS
Farming is a qualifying activity under the Diesel Refund Scheme. Most farming enterprises will qualify to be registered for the Diesel Refund Scheme. The person carrying on the farming enterprise may, therefore, apply for registration with the Diesel Refund Scheme, provided the enterprise is registered for VAT. In terms of section 75(1C)(a)(iii) of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of […]
THE DIFFERENT VAT SUPPLIES
There are a few instances where VAT is not charged at the standard rate of 15%. In the following newsletter, we distinguish between the different supplies that attract VAT but does not necessarily have the impact of a standard rate supply. Denied Supplies The VAT Act provides for certain expenses where input VAT is denied, […]
Value-added Remarks on Value-added Tax (VAT)
VAT is an integral part of our economic society and is something that influences everyone, especially businesses in South Africa. In this article, we will discuss a few do’s and don’ts regarding VAT. Valid tax invoices In South Africa’s current tax system, vendors that are registered for VAT are allowed a deduction for the tax […]
VAT Regulations dealing with the supply of electronic services
Since 2015, foreign suppliers of electronic services (such as audio-visual content, e-books etc.) in South Africa are deemed to operate an enterprise for VAT locally. Although the regime has been in place for several years, new regulations in this regard are continuously published, the latest being on 18 March 2019, with an effective date of […]
FORM REQUIREMENTS FOR OBJECTIONS
Dispute resolution with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) generally has a two-pronged approach. Firstly, taxpayers must present their case on the merits – this will include the factual basis and background that has led to the dispute. Secondly, and equally important (if not more so), is the procedural process. This deals with timeframes, form […]
HELPFUL TAX RESOURCES
South African taxes are inherently complex and often involve interpretation, consulting and in exceptional cases, a fair amount of educated guessing on exactly what the legislature intended when the various acts were drafted. However, in order to assist taxpayers through the maze of information, there are some very helpful aids available to taxpayers and tax […]
BAD DEBTS AND VAT
While there is currently a focus on the income tax considerations of bad and doubtful debts (given that National Treasury has proposed changes to section 11(j) of the Income Tax Act[1] to allow for an allowance of 25% of impairments in respect of doubtful debts), the Value Added Tax (VAT) aspect of bad debts is […]
CORRECTION OF TAX INVOICES
Since it is illegal to issue more than one tax invoice per taxable supply, and another tax invoice may not be issued to alter any consideration in respect of an original tax invoice issued, the Value-Added Tax Act[1] prescribes very specific circumstances in which vendors may issue credit notes in respect of tax invoices that […]