2. The days of ignoring tax are over
Have to acquaint your self with tax law
Engage attorneys or tax practitioners
Proper administration of records
Be vigilant
Know your rights
3. THE BAD NEWS
SARS can do an unannounced inspection (not
acceptable)
SARS may seize assets of defaulting,
withholding agent in anticipation of
preservation order by High Court.
Personal liability for company’s tax debts
4. Jeopardy Assessments:
May be applied if the collection of tax is in
jeopardy. Jeopardy assessments also known
as protective assessments may be issued in
advance of the date when taxes are normally
due.
5. FEAR OF THE TAAct EXPLOITED
• Tax payers accounts are loaded
• Excessive interest and penalties added
• Credits/refunds ignored
• Tax payers harassed and bullied
• Call centers claim it is in terms of new TAAct
(All nonsense)
6. DON’T BE INTIMIDATED
THE GOOD NEWS!!
• When a SARS official conducts a criminal
investigation he or she is required to
recognize the constitutional rights.
• An admission of an offence by a taxpayer
made in the course of information gathering
by SARS is not admissible in criminal
proceedings, unless a court orders such.
7. MORE GOOD NEWS
SEARCH AND SEIZURE WITHOUT A WARRANT
Only permitted under following
circumstances:
* If the owner or person consents in
writing;
* If no consent is given, a senior SARS
official believes there may be destruction
of relevant material
8. PROMOTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE ACT(PAJA
ACT)
WHEREAS section 33(1 ) and (2) of the Constitution provides that
everyone has the
◦ right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and
procedurally fair; and
◦ that everyone whose rights have been adversely affected by
administrative action has the right to be given written reasons;
(1) Any person whose rights have been materially and
adversely affected by administrative action and who has
not been given reasons for the action may, within 90 days
after the date on which that person became aware of the
action or might reasonably have been expected to have
become aware of the action, request that the administrator
concerned furnish written reasons for the action.
9. (2) The administrator to whom the request is made must,
within 90 days after receiving the request, give that
person adequate reasons in writing for the
administrative action.
(3) If an administrator fails to furnish adequate reasons
for an administrative action, it must, subject to
subsection (4) and in the absence of proof to the
contrary, be presumed in any proceedings for judicial
review that the administrative action was taken
without good reason.
(4) (a) An administrator may depart from the requirement
to furnish adequate reasons if it is reasonable and
justifiable in the circumstances, and must forthwith
inform the person making the request of such
departure.
10. In certain provisions, TAAct limits administrative
fairness rights, as permitted under PAJA, for
example:
* an inspection of a business premises may be
conducted without prior notice; and
* SARS is not required to give the taxpayer prior
notice of an application for a civil judgement
for the recovery of tax, if SARS is satisfied that
giving notice would prejudice the collection of
the tax.
11. HOW TO AVOID TAX PROBLEMS IN SYSTEM
Ensure that filing errors are eliminated from the
tax practitioner’s side by:
* double checking all filing and extension due
dates;
* instructing clients formally to give you
notification immediately if they receive SARS
notices;
* using a diary system or tax
administration software to trace tasks, filing
and dates, including all applicable deadlines
in communication;
12. * ensuring good management of manual
submissions and proof of submissions
* ensure that calculation errors are
eliminated by double checking all
calculations and spreadsheet prepared;
* comparing current and prior year income,
deductions and other important
information.
* obtain explanations of differences
from the taxpayer;
13. * utilising built-in quality controls in tax
software. Beware of program "bugs” in
software programs including data import
errors, calculation errors and out of date
software (especially for employees tax);
* utilising professionals to do spot checks,
but keep confidentiality in mind;
* maintaining a healthy attitude of
professional scepticism; and
* reconciling income tax, VAT, employees
tax and customs information, if possible.
