Abstract
Section 164(3) of the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011 gives a senior SARS official the discretion to suspend the payment of disputed tax or a portion thereof, having regard to relevant factors. Limited guidance is available in this regard. The objectives are to establish the concerns and uncertainties regarding the relevant factors and to determine whether a ‘suspension of the payment of disputed tax’ in terms of section 164(3) constitutes the granting of ‘credit’ in terms of a ‘credit agreement’ in terms of the National Credit Act, Act No. 34 of 2005. This is achieved by adopting an explanatory research approach and performing a literature review and comparative analysis respectively. The conclusion is reached that the current factors listed are not necessarily the most relevant ones. Recommendations are made to simplify the process and to revise and improve the wording regarding the relevant factors.
Highlights
Taxpayers registered with the South African Revenue Service (‘the SARS’) are obliged to pay their tax liability according to their tax assessment (Short Guide to the Tax Administration Act, 2011, 2013:58)
Amendments to the relevant factors since first enactment will be highlighted. By examining these concerns and uncertainties this section aims to determine whether the relevant factors listed in the latest version of the Tax Administration Act are the most relevant and applicable ones to consider in respect of such a request
Treurnicht (2015:3) states that it is clear from the 2014 amendments that it will be harder for taxpayers to convince the SARS to suspend their obligation to pay a disputed amount of tax
Summary
Taxpayers registered with the South African Revenue Service (‘the SARS’) are obliged to pay their tax liability according to their tax assessment (Short Guide to the Tax Administration Act, 2011, 2013:58). A comparative analysis is done between the relevant factors and the process in respect of a request for the suspension of the payment of disputed tax and the factors and the process applicable to the granting of ‘credit’ in terms of the NCA. The contribution of this article is to make recommendations in order to simplify the process and improve the wording regarding some of the relevant factors This will assist taxpayers with their requests for the suspension of the payment of disputed tax, and could facilitate the process regarding future requests for suspension of disputed tax by taxpayers while simultaneously endorsing the SARS’ focus on low risk revenue collection
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