Overview
SARS published its Consultation Paper on VAT Modernisation: E-Invoicing, Interoperability Framework and E-Reporting.
The paper proposes a five-corner Digital VAT Model. Accredited service providers would validate and clear structured e-Invoices as they pass between supplier and buyer, while SARS receives the transaction data in near real time. SARS intends to apply AI and analytics to that data to target risk, pre-fill VAT returns and, over time, introduce VAT auto-assessment. Under the proposal, taxpayers retain the right to confirm or amend a pre-filled return.
Implementation is proposed in phases: draft VAT regulations, then testing and a pilot. Large businesses would adopt first, and smaller enterprises would follow progressively. Under the proposal, a PDF or scanned invoice will not qualify as an e-Invoice. The paper anticipates costs for software, system changes, service provider fees and training, and names tax practitioners among the intermediaries directly affected.
This webinar explains the proposed model, timelines and assesses the consequences for businesses and practitioners. It also sets out the steps that practices and their clients can take before the regulations are finalised.
Webinar content
- Overview of VAT modernisation: the limits of post-audit, declaration-based administration
- The Digital VAT Ecosystem: e-Invoicing, the Interoperability Framework, e-Reporting and the five-corner model
- Pre-filled returns and future auto-assessment: what taxpayers must still confirm or amend
- Benefits, costs and risks for businesses, practitioners and SARS
- The implementation journey: draft regulations, testing, pilot and phased rollout from 2030
- Stakeholder engagement and the position of small businesses and tax practitioners
- Practical steps for practices and their clients in the interim
Competencies Developed
- Explain the limits of post-audit, declaration-based VAT administration and the rationale for SARS’s move to a Digital VAT Model.
- Describe the five-corner model, including the roles of accredited service providers, the Interoperability Framework and near-real-time e-Reporting to SARS.
- Distinguish a structured e-Invoice from PDF and scanned invoices under the proposed requirements.
- Recognise the practitioner’s duty to verify pre-filled VAT returns and, under future auto-assessment, to confirm or amend SARS-generated data before relying on it.
- Assess the cost, system, service-provider and training implications of e-Invoicing for businesses and tax practices.
- Plan interim readiness steps for practices and clients ahead of draft regulations, testing, the pilot and the phased rollout from 2030.
Presenter
Christo Theron
(CA(SA) H Dip Tax (Wits) M Com Tax (UP)
Christo is a recognised specialist in the field of indirect taxes. As a technical expert, he is responsible for overseeing the quality of all VAT as well as Customs and Excise opinions issued by TradeTaxPlus.
He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation from the University of Pretoria.
Christo serves as the chairperson of the SAICA VAT Committee and presents most of SAICA’s VAT seminars. He previously presented all VAT seminars for LexisNexis.
He has been involved in UNISA’s Advanced Course in VAT for many years, contributing significantly to developing the programme into one of South Africa’s leading educational tools. He continues to present the course.
CPD
Attending this webinar and the successful completion of the online assessment will secure a certificate of completion for 1 hour of Tax CPD.
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