There is a non-profit organisation (NPO) that wants to register as an importer but the organisation is not yet registered for income tax. Must they get an income tax number first before they apply to be registered as an importer?
Author: Alison van den Berg
Important:
This answer is based on tax law year ending 28 February 2021.
Answer:
There is sometimes inconsistent application by SARS processing officers of the registration requirements. For example, sometimes they revert and insist that a VAT registration needs to be in place first, even though this is not a requirement in terms of the Act or Rules to the Customs Act. In short then, the answer is “no”, but this is not a guarantee that there might be a request to do so. In that case, the applicant could refer the officer to the SARS External Guide to completion of the DA185 registration application in which it instructs, in respect of the relevant Box 8 of the DA185 application form where it asks for the SARS identification/registration numbers, as follows: “Provide all existing registered identification and various tax numbers applicable to the business or person applying for registration / licensing activities.” In addition, the applicant could insert at Box 8 that the entity is an NGO.