Taxpayer was certified as a person with a disability in 2013 and has been assessed as a person with a disability since then. Suddenly, in 2019 SARS raised an additional assessment stating "Disability does not qualify" and reversed tax credits of R13 060.
Important:
This answer is based on tax law for the tax year ending 28 February 2020.
Answer:
It may be appropriate to ask for reasons for the assessment, under rule 6, as we agree with you that ground given for the additional assessment is not sufficient for you to formulate the objection.
The definition of ‘qualifying medical expenditure’, in paragraph (c), refers to “any expenditure that is prescribed by the Commissioner (other than expenditure recoverable by a person or his or her spouse) necessarily incurred and paid by the person during the year of assessment in consequence of any physical impairment or disability suffered by the person or any dependant of the person.”
The important point is that it must be expenditure that is prescribed by SARS – see below.
For the purposes of section 6B, 'disability' means a moderate to severe limitation of any person's ability to function or perform daily activities as a result of a physical, sensory, communication, intellectual or mental impairment, if the limitation –
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has lasted or has a prognosis of lasting more than a year; and
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is diagnosed by a duly registered medical practitioner in accordance with criteria prescribed by the Commissioner;
The SARS guide explains that a person who wishes to claim a medical credit for disability expenses must have a Confirmation of Diagnosis of Disability form (ITR-DD), which is available on the SARS website (www.sars.gov.za), completed. The ITR-DD needs to be completed and endorsed by a duly registered medical practitioner every five years, if the disability is of a more permanent nature.
The SARS guide then, under the heading ‘vision’, stipulates the following:
“The minimum requirement for a person to be classified as a blind person is –
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visual acuity in the better eye with best possible correction, less than 6/18 (0.3); and
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visual field 10 degrees or less around central fixation.”
“6/18” means that, what a person with normal vision can read at 18 metres, the person being tested can only read at 6 metres.
“Best possible correction” refers to the position after a person’s vision has been corrected by means of spectacles, contact lenses or intraocular (implanted) lenses.”
I have not lodged an objection since the new efling system was introduce, but it is our understanding that the form to be used for an objection actually specifically caters for the medical rebates. You will have to supplement it with an additional document. Your ground of objection is that the person meets the requirements for the rebate and in the objection you should refer to the ITR-DD and should, if not apparent from the form, attach proof that it was signed by a practitioner trained to use a Snellen chart (for example, an optometrist or ophthalmologist).