#WATCH I This webinar is not to be missed for any person who is responsible for ITR 14 and VAT 201 submissions and responding to SARS audits and RFI’s. It will also be insightful for any public officer or director responsible for overall tax governance of a taxpayer.

Income Tax and VAT Audits

Overview

In the 2023 Budget Speech, the Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana stated that “…our country is reaping the benefits of a more efficient and effective tax administration, that is building trust to increase voluntary compliance and boost revenue collections.”

The 2023/2024 Budget elaborates on the South African Revenue Service (SARS) renewal process as follows: “SARS celebrated its 25th anniversary in October 2022. SARS continues to enhance its service offering as it rebuilds from the period of state capture. Over the past three years it has strengthened revenue collection and worked to ensure that its systems, officials and leadership are capacitated to improve the taxpayer’s experience, increase compliance and generate additional tax revenue.”

Since the IT 14SD was decommissioned in the latter part of 2022, there has been a significant increase in requests for information (RFI) and formal SARS audits. Where errors are suspected, additional assessments are raised together with significant penalties.

The tax practitioner and the tax executive has an obligation towards our clients and our employers to ensure that SARS audits and RFI’s are dealt with effectively and efficiently whilst minimising the risk of revised assessments and eliminating the risk of understatement penalties charged by SARS.

Webinar content

The webinar will cover the following four main sections:

We will firstly explore certain high-profile SCA and High Court cases and consider whether or not a different approach by the taxpayer in dealing with the SARS RFI and the SARS audit could have avoided the cases being referred to the court in the first instance. Cases dealing with understatement penalties, prepayments, stock valuations and Section 24C will be discussed.

During section two, we will consider how a precautionary and anticipatory approach to ITR 14 and VAT 201 preparation can avoid costly disputes with SARS and minimise the risks of understatement penalties. We will discuss sound principles of tax risk management and tax governance that, if applied properly, can protect the taxpayer against most understatement penalties.

Next, we will deal with practical case studies where a strategy for dealing with SARS audits under different scenarios will be discussed in a practical and understandable manner. Participants will benefit from the practical experience built up over 30 years by the presenter in dealing with SARS audits. This is more than “knowing your rights”. This section is about the subjective decisions to be made by the person dealing with SARS audits under a variety of scenarios.

During the final section, we will deal with the future of tax audits with specific reference to increased data analytical capabilities of SARS and reliance on third party data submissions.

Competencies developed in this webinar

After attending this webinar, you will:

• Know your rights in terms of the Tax Administration Act (TAA) in so far as dealing with SARS RFI’s and audits are concerned.
• Take a pro-active approach through adoption of basic tax risk management procedures by anticipating standard RFI’s.
• Develop a strategy for responding to RFI’s and SARS audits.
• Be able to prepare a well-worded response to a SARS RFI and audits that is free of ambiguity and will assist SARS to apply its mind as to whether or not you have complied with the law.

Presenter

Johan Heydenrych CA(SA)

Johan has more than 30-years’ experience in providing tax consulting services in the area of corporate tax, value-added tax (VAT) and remuneration planning. He was a tax partner in KPMG from 1997 to 2020 and is currently a partner in the Kreston SA network specialising in taxation. He provides a wide range of tax services to various clients across industries. These include but are not limited to the following:

• Advice on tax risk management and tax governance.
• Tax compliance services including but not limited to ITR 14 and IT 14SD.
• Dealing with tax disputes including representing clients at alternative dispute resolution (ADR) hearings.
• Submission of documentation and revised returns under the voluntary disclosure programme.
• Issuing of tax technical opinions on income tax, VAT and PAYE. This include preparing briefs to senior counsel and submissions of requests for binding opinions from SARS.
• Audit support services that include normal tax and deferred tax disclosure and disclosure of uncertain tax positions.
• Assistance with implementation of tax reporting for new accounting standards such as IFRIC 23, IFRS 9, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16.
• Facilitation of tax diagnostic sessions with existing and prospective clients.
• Advice on mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations.
• Tax due diligences
• Advice on tax implications of recapitalization transactions, debt restructures, liquidations, and deregistration’s.

Education and Qualifications

• BCom (Accounting) (cum laude).
• BCom (Accounting) (Hons) (cum laude).
• Certificate in the Theory of Accounting.
• MCom (Taxation) (cum laude), winner of “Best MCom (tax) student” award.
• Chartered accountant (Specialising in Taxation).
• Member of SAICA and IRBA.
• Registered Tax Practitioner.

CPD

This event and successful completion of the online assessment will secure 2 hours verifiable output Tax CPD points.

Event Investment

Free for Tax Technicians, Tax Practitioner, Tax Accountant CPD subscribers and Practice Packages. Not a CPD subscriber yet? Click here to register now.

• Regular price: R495.00.
• SAIT member price: R395.00.
• Group price 1 (5 people max): R950.00.
• Group price 2 (10 people max): R1 800.00.
• Group price 3 (15 people max): R2 500.00.

Payments and cancellations

• All payments must be made by EFT or by credit card, at least three working days before commencement of an event.
• Kindly note that should payment not be received two days after the event, legal action will be taken.
• Proof of payment will be requested at registration if payment does not reflect in The Tax Faculty’s bank account.
• Only written notice of cancellation will be recognized.
• Conditions:
  • If the cancellation occurs more than four working days prior to the event no cancellation fee will be charged.
  • If the cancellation occurs less than four working days prior to the event, a 100% cancellation fee will apply.
• Delegates who book and fail to attend will be liable for the full event fee.
• The Tax Faculty’s liability in the case of an event being cancelled will be limited to a refund or credit of the event fee.
• Please click here for the full terms and conditions.