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2022 Legal and Policy

Legal and Policy - 29 September 2022

Description

SARS:

  • 28 September 2022 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is increasing its focus on Trusts by embarking on a journey to modernise and improve service offerings to this segment of taxpayers. These improvements aim to make it easy and simple for Trusts to comply with their legal obligations.

Pursuant to the above, SARS has conducted a detailed current state analysis of tax compliance by Trusts and their beneficiaries to determine whether all Trusts and their beneficiaries are registered with SARS for tax purposes and whether all Trusts and their beneficiaries have filed their annual income tax returns. If so, whether such returns fully and accurately reflect their actual tax status and their payment obligations have been fully met.

SARS is working hard to increase and expand the use of data. Through this process, SARS has identified a significant number of beneficiaries of Trusts who have received distributions but have not submitted income tax returns in line with their legal obligation as per the annual public notice under section 25 of the Tax Administration Act 23 of 2011.

These beneficiaries consist of companies, individuals and Trusts who must submit their outstanding income tax returns immediately. Failure to remedy this non-compliance, SARS will invoke the provisions of the law which may include actions such as raising estimated assessments, imposition of interest and penalties as well as civil and criminal sanctions.

In line with its strategic objectives of providing clarity and certainty to enable taxpayers to comply with their legal obligations as required by law, an interim online registration platform (SOQS) is available to assist and enable Trusts to register with SARS. This platform can be accessed via the following hyperlink: SARS Online Query (2.0.0.0 (Prod)).

SARS Commissioner Mr Edward Kieswetter said that “SARS will invoke all measures provided for in legislation if Trusts taxpayers and their beneficiaries intentionally negate their legal obligations. However, Trust taxpayers and their beneficiaries may still regularize their tax affairs by making use of the SARS Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) which is available and accessible on the eFiling platform”.

For further information, please contact SARSMedia@sars.gov.za

  • 28 September 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964

Samsung Electronics SA ( Pty) Ltd v CSARS (764/2021) [2022] ZACSA 126 (28 September 2022)

Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 – classification of smartphone as a ‘telephone for cellular networks’ for customs duty.

  • 28 September 2022 – Income Tax Act, 1962, and Superior Courts Act, 2013

CSARS v Porrit N O and Others (9260/2013) [2022] ZAKZPHC 53 (16 September 2022)

Whether plaintiff could oppose application for amendment

Table 3 – Rates at which interest-free or low interest loans are subject to income tax

  • 26 September 2022 – Income Tax Act, 1962

Interpretation Note 123 – Effect on the date of issue of a share arising from a change in the redemption features

  • 22 September 2022 – Income Tax Act, 1962

African Tax Administration Forum Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters – date of entry into force is 23 September 2017

The Status Summary of Multilateral Mutual Administrative Assistance Conventions/Agreements has subsequently been updated

  • 23 September 2022 – SARS is conducting roadshows in the regions to assist traders to onboard onto the electronic Registration, Licensing and Accreditation (RLA) eFiling system. Onboarding to the RLA system will lessen manual processing that would, at times, come with delays. The regional roadshows will provide traders the opportunity to have physical interactions with SARS’ Registration, Licensing and Accreditation officers, who will show them how the registration and licensing is done, as well as how to navigate the system. The Regional Roadshows commenced on the 6th September 2002.

Traders in the Eastern Cape are encouraged to take advantage of the next leg of the roadshows:

  • Port Elizabeth sessions are from 26 – 30 September 2022 at our Port Elizabeth offices, SARS Customs Branch, 3 Winston Ntshona Street, Central Port Elizabeth and
  • East London sessions are from 26 – 30 September 2022 at our East London offices, Customs Boardroom, Table Mountain, 36 Phillip Frame Road, Waverly Park, Chistelhurst, East London.
  • Bushbuckridge
  • Schoemansdal
  • Pop-up branch – Ilanga Mall
  • Pop-up branch – Tonga Mall
  • 23 September 2022 – The September 2022 issue of the Tax Practitioner Connect newsletter is now available. See the latest edition for news on the SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness Programme, FAQs on 2022 Filing Season, important dates for provisional taxpayers, legislative issues and more.
  • 22 September 2022 – Transfer Duty Act, 1949

Interpretation Note 22 (Issue 5) – Transfer Duty Exemption: Public Benefit Organisations and Statutory Bodies

  • 22 September 2022 – Transfer Duty Act, 1949

Interpretation Note 22 (Issue 4) – Transfer Duty Exemption: Public Benefit Organisations and Statutory Bodies

  • 22 September 2022 – General

Taxation in South Africa 2022

  • 22 September 2022 – Income Tax Act, 1962

Draft Guide on the Taxation of Farming Operations

Due date for comment: 25 November 2022

  • 22 September 2022 – In line with its strategy objective of making hard and costly for those who engages in non-compliant activities, several specialised divisions within the South African Revenue Services (SARS) are focussing on tax audit investigations aimed at suspect non-compliant taxpayers, actors and facilitators benefitting directly or indirectly from tax evasion and illicit financial flows stemming from wildlife crime.

Subsequent to a multi-disciplinary law enforcement operation consisting of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) Wildlife Trafficking Section, the SAPS Special Task and Force Unit, Counter Intelligence, Asset Forfeiture Unit‚ SANParks‚ the Department of Environmental Affairs, National Prosecuting Authority and SARS Specialised Debt and Customs Dog Detector conducted a search and seizure were conducted at 11 different private and business properties operated by individuals who are engaged in tax evasion and wildlife trafficking

Several arrests were made including active SAPS members plus a seizure of assets and cash used in these criminal operations. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation further identified a number of trucks and vehicles suspected to be stolen.

Resulting tax investigations have resulted in notable successes including legal recovery, civil proceedings and criminal charges against a criminal syndicate involved in wildlife trafficking including rhino poaching. The legal actions mounted by SARS against members of the criminal syndicate include, sequestration and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime.

In order to strengthen cross border enforcement actions SARS continues to engage in enhanced co-operation with international tax and customs agencies abroad and collaboration with INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization (WCO), the OCED Task Force on Tax Crimes (TFTC) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Tax evasion is an integral offence to money-laundering. In this regard SARS will continue to enhance its engagements with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), DPCI, the Department Forestry, Fisheries & Environment and engagement with the South African Anti-Money-Laundering Integrated Task Force (SAMLIT), which is a private-public partnership aimed at combating financial crimes and illicit financial flows linked to criminal activity.

SARS Commissioner Mr Edward Kieswetter said that “ Wildlife crime and illicit trade by transnational organized crime groups threatens not only our iconic species, like the rhino and pangolin but have a direct negative impact on the South African tourism industry which contributes more than ZAR 268 billion (4.3%) of GDP annually and employs more than 1.1 million people. Environmental crimes and the illegal trade in natural resources are closely associated to financial crimes like tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, illicit financial flow, corruption, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

“The illicit hunting of rhino and trading in rhino horns constitutes a national as well as an international crime. In the 10 years since, 9,885 rhinos have been killed across Africa, according to the 22 August 2022 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there were 22,137 rhinos, black and white, left in Africa at the end of 2021. SARS will do all within the provisions of the law it administers to confront these criminal gangs, he concluded”

On the rhino day, it is encouraging that SARS acting with other law enforcement is working hard to preserve this national heritage while dealing with crimes of tax evasion and wildlife trafficking and money laundering. SARS joins the international community in celebrating the International Rhino Day.

For further information, contact SARS at SARSMedia@sars.gov.za.

  • 22 September 2022 – RFP17/2022: Establishment of Security Assessment Services Panel.

Closing Date: 24/10/2022 11:00 (Click here for tender documents)

  • 22 September 2022 – Colesburg and De Aar Mobile tax unit schedules for October 2022 – Free State
  • 22 September 2022 – Please note that the Production platforms for both Secure File Gateway and Connect:Direct will be temporarily offline for planned maintenance between 03:00 and 07:00 on Saturday 24 September 2022. Please do not submit any files in the Production environment during this time, as they will not be processed.
  • 22 September 2022 – The latest scam is an email pretending to be from SARS, stating your Provisional Tax Return was finalised. Please don’t click on the link inside the email. The scam was published as an alert on our Scams & Phishing webpage.

OECD:

14th meeting of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS - 6 October 2022

ATAF:

SAFLII:

Commissioner for South African Revenue Service v Wiese and Others (15065/17) [2022] ZAWCHC 137 (09 September 2022)

AuthorSAICA
DivisionLegal and Policy
Date29 September 2022