Tax penalty rules tighten

TREASURY: AMENDMENT SHUTS DOOR ON USING 'INADVERTENT ERROR' AS LOOPHOLE

- Amanda Visser

National Treasury published several legislative amendments over the weekend that will give effect to tax announcements made in the 2025 budget, which was eventually presented to parliament for the third time in May.

One rather controversial amendment relates to taxpayers' reliance on the scope of a "bona fide inadvertent error" to escape paying huge understatement penalties.

The amendments also pave the way for real-time reporting of value added tax (VAT) and an extension of the voluntary disclosure programme to include defaults under the Customs and Excise Act.

Treasury said it also intends to reduce the threshold for the ring-fencing of assessed losses to prevent abuse and promote fairness.

This is to ensure that losses from non-commercial trades cannot be used to evade paying taxes.

Other changes include the removal of the current tax-free limit on imported goods, which means that low-value imports will become subject to VAT.

It is also proposed that a senior official from the South African Revenue Service (Sars) may conduct unannounced inspections of business premises when a taxpayer applies for a tax registration.