Industry updates | April 2022
Please take note of the following industry updates that may be relevant to you and your business.
COMPLIANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Due dates for reporting and payments- April 2022:
TAX ADMINISTRATION
1. 2022 Annual Reconciliation Season
The 2022 Annual Reconciliation Season will commence on 1 April 2022 and end on 31 May 2022. All employers are required to submit their annual reconciliation declarations covering the full tax year from 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022 to SARS.
The EMP501 must reflect accurate and up-to-date payroll information about your employees, employees’ tax (PAYE) payments made and tax certificates (IRP5/IT3(a)s) generated.
It is imperative for employers to file accurate and complete EMP501s as SARS uses the information received through the submission of an EMP501 to pre-populate the tax returns of employees. This information is also used to populate the information reflected on all auto-assessments – Incomplete or inaccurate information will negatively affect the employees’ ability to meet their tax obligations.
2. SARS’ Financial Year-End – 31 March 2022
SARS closed out its 2022 financial year end on the 31st of March 2022, we can expect the following:
• Increased focus on collections and outstanding returns
• No current system changes or enhancements.
• Focus on interpretation notes and legal policy.
3. Delays in the finalisation of VAT verifications
During the Gauteng South regional meeting held on 18 March 2022, it was reported that there is currently a significant backlog in the finalisation of VAT verification cases in the region. As a result, refunds are delayed beyond 21-business days.
SARS confirmed that the compliance auditors within the region are working overtime and additional SARS regions are assisting to reduce the backlog experienced in the Gauteng South region.
4. Gauteng North Big Business model
The Gauteng North region of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is embarking on an exciting initiative to offer a focused service to businesses in the region from 1 April 2022.
This refocused offering will see businesses being categorised into Big Businesses (Annual Turnover of R200m to R999m) and Medium, Small and Micro Businesses (Annual Turnover of below R199m) in the Gauteng North region (covering Pretoria, Midrand, Central Johannesburg and Soweto).
This new initiative forms part of SARS’ strategic objective of making it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply and fulfill their obligations.
The Big Business model will be based on the principles used for the Large Business and International Unit (LBI) i.e. that of a “one-stop shop” whose mandate is to offer an efficient service to its clients at various steps in the lifecycle of each tax product.
The lifecycle of a tax product includes, but is not limited to, registration, declaration/filing and post-filing activities such as verification, audit, dispute resolution and debt collection.
Clients who wish to make use of these services can book a virtual appointment by using SARS’ online booking system (go to www.sars.gov.za and click on “Book an Appointment”) and then use the Company/Trust/Entity Representative drop-down option. Tax practitioners who represent big business clients can continue to select the “Tax Practitioner” drop-down option.
5. Launch of SARS multilingual tax terminology publication
The Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Mr Edward Kieswetter has committed the organisation to promoting the use of historically marginalised official languages in the tax and customs environment.
He was speaking at the launch of the SARS multilingual tax terminology publication which contains 450 terms in all of our official languages (English already existing), namely Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, Tshivenḓa, Xitsonga, IsiNdebele, Siswati, IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, and Afrikaans. This list covers the wide spectrum of the financial terminology, such as tax, wills, and general financial business practices.
Commissioner Kieswetter, set the scene by quoting the Constitution: “The preamble of the Constitution of South Africa reminded the audience about the impact of language. We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity”.
He further said that “through this initiative SARS is striving to provide greater clarity and certainty to its taxpayers in all 11 official languages that would promote social justice and fundamental human rights”.
Tata Madiba (President Nelson Mandela) himself reminded us of the power of language when he said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his own language, that touches their heart.”
For centuries language in our country has always been an issue of major public interest and national policy. Some languages are on the verge of extinction because their speakers were decimated or assimilated into other cultures. Since 1994, the government has been addressing this issue as language can build bridges between individuals, between communities, and in our case, can build trust and improve our service to taxpayers and traders.
The Use of Official Languages Act (UOLA) was signed into law in 2013. The Act provides for the regulation and monitoring of the use of official languages by national government for government purposes. It further requires the adoption of a language policy and the establishment of a language unit for national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises.
SARS adopted such a language policy, gazetted on 23 November 2015, and is presently implementing the policy. The SARS Language Services Unit was established, with a mandate is to make a concerted effort to develop the previously marginalised languages. It also supports the Taxpayer and Traders Education initiatives as it goes to communities to educate taxpayers in their own language about the importance of tax compliance.
This year is the 25th anniversary of SARS, a major and joyous milestone, established with the mandate to collect all revenues due, to ensure optimal compliance with tax and customs legislation and providing a customs service that protects our borders and facilitates legitimate trade.
- Domonique Ramos | 04 April 2022