In Delport v Le Roux and Others[1], the court’s judgment, delivered on 24 November 2022, is a r...
CSARS v Atlas Copco : trading stock and IFRS
Tuesday, 29 October 2019
On 27 September 2019 the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) delivered its judgment in CSARS v Atlas Copco South Africa (Pty) Ltd[1]. In doing so the court drew heavily on its 2018 judgment in CSARS v Volkswagen SA (Pty) Ltd [2]. As was the case in Volkswagen, central to the issues in Atlas Copco were
- Published in Income Tax, Trading stock
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SARS wins but bears the costs
Tuesday, 14 May 2019
In its judgment on 6 March 2019 the Pretoria High Court found in favour of SARS in CSARS v Naude & others, case number 51712/2017 (not yet reported) but awarded costs against SARS for disregarding the Uniform Rules and order of the court in the course of the dispute between the applicant and SARS. As
- Published in Tax Administration Act
Interpretation of Employment Tax Incentive Act
Thursday, 07 March 2019
ON 13 December 2018 the Western Cape tax court upheld the appeal of the taxpayer in ABC (Pty) Ltd v CSARS Case No 14426. The origin of the dispute lay in the fact that the taxpayer employed both union and non-union employees. At issue was the interpretation of the provisions of the Employment Tax Incentive
- Published in Employment Tax Incentive Act, Interpretation of statutes
Which factors affect the value of trading stock on hand?
Tuesday, 02 October 2018
On 19 September 2018 in CSARS v Volkswagen SA (Pty) Ltd (1028/2017) [2018] ZASCA 116 the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the tax court and found in favour of SARS in a matter dealing with the valuation of trading stock on hand at the end of a financial year. Central to the
- Published in Income Tax
VAT on student accommodation: the SCA decides
Monday, 17 September 2018
On 12 September 2018 the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, which had in turn confirmed that of the tax court, in the matter of CSARS v Respublica (Pty) Ltd (1025/2017 [2018] ZASCA 109. The SCA found that the lease of six buildings to the Tshwane
- Published in Uncategorized
Transfer duty : habitatio and bare dominium
Wednesday, 12 September 2018
A full bench of the Western Cape High Court delivered an interesting and instructive judgment on 7 February 2018 in the matter of CSARS v Janice Beverley Short and Johannes Hermanus Jacobs, Case No A 289/2017, on appeal from a decision of the tax court. At issue was how to determine the transfer duty payable
- Published in Transfer duty
Donation to a special trust
Friday, 29 June 2018
On 28 June 2018 SARS issued an interesting binding private ruling, BPR 306, in which the applicant, a person in the early stages of dementia but still lucid and with the capacity to contract, distributed part of her estate to a special trust she had established for her care and maintenance. The distribution was ruled
- Published in Donations tax, Income Tax
Section 24C : future obligations in a “chain” restaurant
Friday, 09 March 2018
Section 24C of the Income Tax Act 1961 has been part of the Act since 1980 and has been a source of periodic disputes between taxpayers and SARS. Although it was originally intended for the construction industry, taxpayers have sought, with varying success, to bring their transactions within its provisions while SARS is alert to
- Published in Income Tax
Retrospective tax legislation – when is it acceptable?
Thursday, 15 June 2017
The Gauteng Division, Pretoria, of the High Court recently had occasion to consider the constitutionality of retrospective legislation, in Pienaar Brothers (Pty) Ltd v CSARS & the Minister of Finance Case 87760/2014 (not yet reported). The Court in effect condoned retrospective legislation where adequate warning existed of its imminent introduction. This article will not attempt
- Published in Income Tax, Interpretation of statutes
New TIEA with Grenada
Monday, 24 April 2017
Grenada is the most recent country to have signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with South Africa, bringing to 15 the number of TIEAs we have signed. With the exception of Argentina, which isn’t renowned as a tax haven, the rest are commonly recognised as what are now politely called overseas investment centres. What
- Published in International