Nico Grobler – CentaTax

VAT Refund Delays? We Can Help.

Nico Grobler — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:40:00 +0000

Is Your VAT Refund Delayed? We Can Help.

For many businesses, VAT refunds represent an important source of cash flow. When refunds are delayed or a VAT verification becomes prolonged, the impact can be significant, affecting working capital, growth plans, and day-to-day operations.

We understand that dealing with SARS verification processes and disputes can be frustrating and time-consuming. Whether you are awaiting a VAT refund, responding to a verification request, or challenging an assessment, our VAT specialists are available to assist.

Common VAT Refund Delays - The Challenges Businesses Face

You may benefit from professional assistance if you are experiencing:

Delayed VAT refunds
SARS VAT verifications and audits
Requests for extensive supporting documentation
Penalties and interest imposed by SARS
Rejected VAT refund claims
Objections against SARS assessments
Appeals following unsuccessful objections
Other VAT-related disputes or compliance concerns

How We Can Assist with Your VAT Refund Delays

Our experienced VAT team can help you navigate the complexities of SARS processes by providing:

✅ Assistance with SARS VAT verifications and audits
✅ Support in resolving delayed VAT refunds
✅ Preparation and submission of objections
✅ Management of appeals against SARS decisions
✅ Technical VAT advice and dispute resolution strategies
✅ Liaison and engagement with SARS on your behalf
✅ Review of VAT positions and supporting documentation

Our goal is to help clients resolve VAT matters as efficiently as possible while protecting their rights and ensuring compliance with South African tax legislation.

Complimentary 30-Minute VAT Consultation

If you are experiencing challenges with a VAT refund, verification, objection, appeal, or any other VAT-related dispute with SARS, we invite you to contact us for a complimentary 30-minute consultation.

During this no-obligation discussion, we will:

Understand your specific circumstances
Identify key issues and potential risks
Provide initial guidance on available options
Discuss how we may be able to assist in resolving the matter

Contact us today to schedule your free 30-minute consultation and learn how our VAT specialists can assist you in achieving a successful resolution.

Tax Dispute Resolution Challenges and How to Avoid Them

Nico Grobler — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 10:38:05 +0000

Many taxpayers make the critical mistake of only seeking professional tax advice after their objection to a SARS assessment has been declined. Unfortunately, by then, significant damage may already be done. The tax dispute resolution process is complex, highly regulated, and time-sensitive. Success often hinges on procedural compliance, precise legislative referencing, and the taxpayer's ability to discharge the burden of proof. Engaging a qualified tax professional at the outset ,not as a last resort, can significantly improve the likelihood of a favourable outcome.

The dispute resolution process is governed by the Rules promulgated under the Tax Administration Act, 2011. These Rules outline strict procedures and timeframes that both SARS and the taxpayer must adhere to when lodging an objection or appeal.

One of the most common reasons SARS rejects objections is non-compliance with these procedural Rules, whether it's a late submission, a lack of supporting documents, or failure to follow the prescribed format. This makes it essential for taxpayers to be aware of, and comply with, the exact requirements set out in the legislation.

When preparing an objection, the taxpayer must provide a clear and concise legal basis for disputing the assessment, supported by sufficient factual evidence. This is not the time for vague statements or assumptions that SARS “should know” the assessment is incorrect.

Importantly, the burden of proof lies with the taxpayer. The success of an objection often depends on how well the grounds for dispute are formulated and how persuasively the supporting facts are presented. Poorly drafted objections that lack specificity or legal grounding are unlikely to succeed.

Should SARS disallow the objection, either fully or in part, the original submission plays a critical role in determining the strength of the taxpayer’s appeal or application for alternative dispute resolution (ADR). A well-drafted objection lays a strong foundation for further legal recourse.

This is another reason why early professional involvement is vital. A tax professional can help articulate legally sound arguments, reference the applicable statutory provisions, and ensure that all procedural requirements are met—greatly enhancing the chances of success in both the objection and any subsequent stages.

Onus on Taxpayers to Update SARS Details

Nico Grobler — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 15:03:00 +0000

It is a requirement within the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (“the TAA”) for all companies to appoint a Public Officer who will act as the Representative Taxpayer for the company and who will be responsible to ensure that the company is tax compliant.

A Public Officer, which is a natural person, must be appointed by a company within one month after it commences business or acquires an office in South Africa. The company must notify SARS within 21 business days of appointing such a person or where any future changes are made in such appointments. Failure to do so is an offense in terms of the TAA and may result in a fine and/or imprisonment in extreme circumstances.

Apart from a fine or imprisonment, where a taxpayer has failed to update its details, it will experience difficulties communicating with SARS as taxpayers are now required to confirm the details of the Representative Taxpayer reflected on its system together with documentary proof to substantiate (copy of ID etc.). This generally leads to frustration and delays as Taxpayers are required to first update the details of the current Public Officer with SARS before any issues can be resolved.

In addition, the official SARS Power of Attorney (“POA”), whereby taxpayers delegate authority to its staff members or tax practitioners to execute the company’s tax administrative affairs at SARS, requires the details and signature of the Representative Taxpayer. Where the details of the Representative Taxpayer on the POA differ from those on SARS’ system, SARS refuses to service the taxpayer or its tax practitioners until such time that the details are updated.

It is important to note that when updating the Public Officer’s details, SARS requires the resolution duly signed by all directors listed on the company registration document. As a result, the company should also ensure that its company registration documents at CIPC are also up to date.

Non-compliance with the above will result in delays when corresponding with SARS and may have major implications when a specific time frame such as submitting objections, appeals, or requesting further information from SARS applies.

We urge all taxpayers to ensure that the details of their Public Officer and/or Representative Taxpayer are up to date to avoid delay. Kindly contact Nico from CentaTax at nicog@centatax.com or info@centatax.com for assistance with updating all the required details.

Managing risk when submitting an IT14SD reconciliation

Nico Grobler — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 14:57:00 +0000

SARS is more frequently requesting taxpayers to submit a Company Income Tax Supplementary Declaration (IT 14SD) after having assessed the annual income tax return.

An IT 14SD is a supplementary declaration which requires a company to reconcile its Income Tax, Value-Added Tax (VAT), Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) and Customs declarations for the relevant financial Year. This is used by SARS to identify discrepancies with the objective to raise additional assessments and understatement penalties.

It is important to note that SARS, generally, does not apply the concept of “materiality” when a reconciliation difference is evident on an IT14SD and will seek to raise assessments. However, this does not imply that reconciliation differences are not allowed, only that such differences must be explained together with supporting documentation. Often this can only be achieved by detailed data analytics and supporting ledger entries.

Reconciling differences are almost inevitable when completing an IT 14SD due to various variables such as timing differences between tax entries and accounting entries, zero-rated VAT revenue, VAT exempt income, PAYE reconciling differences, correction of Customs entries, variances in tax periods for VAT and Income tax and a host of other factors.

Taxpayers are often on the receiving end of additional assessments and understatement penalties should they not be able to timeously provide reasons for the reconciling differences. This is becoming a formidable task for bigger corporates with more complex structures, multiple transaction types, branches, and divisions unless the ERP is configured to provide the required information.

To mitigate risk, it is advisable to be proactive and perform a monthly reconciliation to ensure that all the various tax reports are reconciled to the financial accounting information instead of being reactive when instructed by SARS to submit the IT 14SD. It is also prudent to implement the appropriate internal controls and configure the ERP to ensure that the required information is readily available.

CentaTax can assist clients with IT14SD reconciliations and provide assistance and guidance on optimizing ERP systems.

Will SARS still consider a late submission of an objection or appeal due to COVID-19?

Nico Grobler — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:54:00 +0000

The various restrictions imposed by the national lockdown and the decision by many businesses to request employees to work from home in response to the Covid19 outbreak will have a direct impact on the effective and timeous submission of disputes to SARS in the form of objections and appeals.

Taxpayers aggrieved by an assessment; or by certain decisions made under the Tax Administration Act (TAA) or any of the Acts administrated by SARS may object to and appeal against those assessments or decisions. The period for lodging an objection or appeal under the TAA is generally limited to 30 business days from the date of the assessment or conclusion of the objection by SARS. A senior SARS official may, within prescribed limits, extend the period prescribed in the rules within which an objection or appeal must be lodged.

Further section 104(5) TAA places a limitation on the extension of time that a senior SARS official may grant for the lodging of an objection. The general extension of the period for lodging an objection cannot exceed a further 30 business days unless a senior SARS official is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist which gave rise to the delay.

The term “exceptional circumstances” is not defined for the purposes of the TAA. It is therefore required to consider its ordinary grammatical meaning, bearing in mind the context in which it appears and the purpose to which it is directed. The “exceptional circumstances” referred to must thus be of such a nature that it would be considered as being something out of the ordinary and of an unusual nature.

SARS Interpretation Note 15 provides that exceptional circumstances may include, a natural or human-made disaster; a civil disturbance or disruption in services; or a serious illness or accident. Therefore, the declaration of a National State of Disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act 2002 (“DMA”) or the serious illness of an employee responsible for the drafting and submission of the objection or appeal, may be considered as exceptional circumstances.

It should be noted that the mere existence of one of these factors may not be sufficient and that the Taxpayer would need to demonstrate that the factor was indeed the reason for the delay in submitting its dispute.

Additional COVID-19 Tax relief measures

Nico Grobler — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 13:42:00 +0000

Following the announcement of the State of National Disaster by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 22 March 2020, SARS published the initial Disaster Management Tax Relief (“(DMTR”) measures on 3 April 2020, effective from 1 April 2020.

These measures were amended in line with the President’s speech on 21 April 2020, which now apply, and includes the following:

The expansion of the Employment Tax Incentive (“ETI”);
A four-month Skills development levy holiday as from 1 May 2020;
Fast-tracking of value-added tax (VAT) refunds and temporarily permitting smaller VAT vendors that are in a net refund position to file monthly instead of bi-monthly;
Three-month deferral for filing and first payment of carbon tax liabilities to 31 October 2020.
A deferral for the payment of excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.

In addition to the above companies with an annual turnover of less than R100 million also qualify for the following additional measure:

The President further stated that companies with an annual turnover of more than R100 million may contact SARS directly on a case-by-case scenario to make the necessary arrangements to defer tax payments without incurring penalties. Similarly, businesses with gross income of less than R100 million can apply for an additional deferral of payments without incurring penalties.

Kindly contact us should you require assistance in applying for deferral of payments.