In Delport v Le Roux and Others[1], the court’s judgment, delivered on 24 November 2022, is a r...
SARS clarifies tax treatment of non-executive directors
Tuesday, 21 February 2017
The question whether non-executive directors (NED) of companies are employees or independent contractors has bedevilled taxpayers, and especially the payroll departments of companies, for years. The question is important because it goes to whether their fees are remuneration, and subject to PAYE, or fees for independent services, and potentially falling within the VAT net. Following
- Published in Income Tax, Non-executive directors, Value-added tax
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A delivery service must deliver
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
In Case No VAT 1390, heard in the Cape tax court in May 2016, the taxpayer, a food delivery enterprise, argued unsuccessfully that the actual delivery process was not part of its enterprise. In consequence, the court found that the delivery costs were subject to output tax. And in arriving at its decision, in interpreting
- Published in Value-added tax
Value-added tax : the meaning of “commercial accommodation”
Sunday, 27 March 2016
In Respublica (Pty) Ltd v CSARS, case No 864/2014, the Gauteng High Court decided in favour of the taxpayer on the meaning of “commercial accommodation” in the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991. The court found that the narrow meaning that SARS ascribed to the term was untenable, and arrived at a wider meaning by applying the
- Published in Interpretation of statutes, Value-added tax
Agreement with Swaziland to prevent VAT fraud
Thursday, 23 April 2015
South Africa and Swaziland recently concluded an agreement “on mutual assistance and co-operation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to value-added tax”. Historically, the proximity and porous borders between South Africa and its neighbours have tempted vendors to carry out purported exports to these countries when in fact the goods concerned either never
- Published in International, Value-added tax
High Court rules for vendor on VAT claim on sponsorships
Thursday, 05 March 2015
If a taxpayer receives money, goods and services from sponsors in return for providing branding and marketing services to the sponsors, output VAT is payable on the value of these receipts. And if the sponsors decline to furnish tax invoices in respect of the money, goods and services they receive from the taxpayer in return,
- Published in Value-added tax
SARS Penalties at a glance
Tuesday, 02 September 2014
The penalty regime introduced in the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (TAA) has caused confusion. This article seeks to clarify the position and eliminate the confusion. The TAA sets out the penalties that can affect taxpayers. This contrasts with the former situation where the provisions for penalties were scattered all over the tax Acts. The TAA
- Published in Income Tax, Value-added tax
SARS must not bully audited taxpayers
Tuesday, 01 July 2014
A recent appeal case South African Revenue Service v Pretoria East Motors (Pty) Ltd, sets out the standard that SARS is expected to uphold when auditing taxpayers. SARS must try to understand the systems used by taxpayers before raising additional assessments and imposing penalties for incorrect tax treatment. The court criticised SARS for employing bullying
- Published in Income Tax, Value-added tax