The Commissioner for the South African Revenue ServiceThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... (SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently...) issued an important notice (SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... Notice) on 16 March 2015. The SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... Notice was published in terms of s35(2) and s36(4) of the Tax AdministrationTax authorities are fundamental institutions within government frameworks, overseeing tax assessment, collection, and administration. Their operations ensure that tax laws are enforced and public funds are collected efficiently. This article delves into tax authorities' purpose, responsibilities, and structure, offering insights into their essential role in supporting government functions and economic stability. What is a Tax Authority? A tax authority is... Act, No 28 of 2011 (TAA). Sections 34 to 39 of the TAA deal with so-called ‘reportable arrangements’. Essentially, if an arrangement has certain characteristics (as listed in s35(1) of the TAA) or if SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... has listed the arrangement in a public notice (in terms of s35(2) of the TAA), then the person who promotes the arrangement (called a promoter) and the person who may derive a tax benefit from the arrangement (called the participant) must report the arrangement to SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently....

In terms of s36(1) to (3) of the TAA, certain arrangements are excluded, and do not need to be reported. Promoters or participants need not report these types of arrangements to SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently.... Section 36(4) of the TAA also allows SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... to exclude additional arrangements by way of public notice.

In terms of the SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... Notice, the following arrangements are now also reportable (in addition to the arrangements with the features set out in s35(1) of the TAA):

• Hybrid financial instruments: Certain arrangements that qualify as ‘hybrid equity shares’ in terms of s8E of the Income TaxIncome Tax is a direct levy imposed by governments on the income generated by individuals, corporations, and other entities within a specific jurisdiction. It serves as a major source of revenue for governments and funds various public expenditures, such as infrastructure projects, healthcare, education, national security, and welfare programs. The tax is generally calculated as a percentage of the taxable... Act, No 58 of 1962 (ITA) and certain ‘hybrid debt instruments’ in terms of s8F of the ITA (other than listed shares). Put simply, under those anti-avoidance provisions, the incidence of tax in relation to financial instruments which have certain features, is re-characterised.
• Share buy-backs: An arrangement in terms of which a company buys back its shares for a price of more than R10 million and the company issued or is required to issue shares within a period of 12 months of entering into the arrangement or the date of the buy-back.
• Offshore trustsA comprehensive look at trusts in international tax law, including definitions, practical examples, key cases, and synonyms.: An arrangement in terms of which a local tax resident makes a contribution to a trustA comprehensive look at trusts in international tax law, including definitions, practical examples, key cases, and synonyms. if: (i) the trustA comprehensive look at trusts in international tax law, including definitions, practical examples, key cases, and synonyms. is a tax resident abroad; (ii) the resident making the contribution is a beneficiaryIn tax law, a beneficiary is the person or entity entitled to receive funds or other benefits from an arrangement, such as a trust or a will. Beneficiaries are often named explicitly in legal documents, ensuring that their rights and interests are protected. The concept of a beneficiary also extends to corporate contexts, such as when a company or trust... of the trustA comprehensive look at trusts in international tax law, including definitions, practical examples, key cases, and synonyms.; and (iii) the value of the contribution or the interest of the beneficiaryIn tax law, a beneficiary is the person or entity entitled to receive funds or other benefits from an arrangement, such as a trust or a will. Beneficiaries are often named explicitly in legal documents, ensuring that their rights and interests are protected. The concept of a beneficiary also extends to corporate contexts, such as when a company or trust... in the trustA comprehensive look at trusts in international tax law, including definitions, practical examples, key cases, and synonyms. exceeds R10 million. Investments in certain offshore collective investment schemes are excluded.
• Assessed losses: An arrangement in terms of which a person acquires a direct or indirect controlling interest in a company that has, or is likely to have, an assessed loss exceeding R50 million.
• Foreign insurance policies: An arrangement in terms of which a local tax resident pays more than R5 million to an offshore insurer and the return of the insurance policy is determined mainly with reference to the value of particular assets held by the insurer.

However, the SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... Notice does contain some good news: SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... has excluded from the operation of s35(1) of the TAA arrangements where the aggregate tax benefit which may be derived by all the participants to the arrangement is less than R5 million.

The SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... Notice replaces all previous notices issued in relation to reportable arrangements.

Section 38 of the TAA sets out the information that a promoter or participant must submit to SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently.... The promoter or participant must submit the information within 45 business days of the date on which the arrangement becomes reportable or, if a person becomes a participant in an arrangement that is reportable, within 45 days of the person becoming a participant (s37 of the TAA).

On receipt of the relevant information SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... must allocate a reference number to the participant for administrative purposes only (s39 of the TAA).

What are the consequences of reporting an arrangement to SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently...? Importantly, the fact that a person has reported an arrangement to SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... does not mean that the person thereby becomes subject to tax. The only effect of reporting an arrangement is that SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... will be notified of a transaction which it may be consider to be suspect from a tax perspective and enable SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... to investigate the transaction at an early stage.

What happens if a person does not inform SARSThe South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the official tax authority responsible for the administration and enforcement of tax laws in South Africa. It plays a crucial role in managing the country’s fiscal policy by collecting revenue, administering customs, and ensuring compliance with tax legislation. Established under the South African Revenue Service Act, No. 34 of 1997, SARS functions independently... of an arrangement that is reportable? In terms of s212 of the TAA, a person who fails to disclose the information in respect of a reportable arrangement is liable to a penalty for each month that the failure continues (limited to 12 months). The amount of the penalty may be doubled or even tripled, depending on the amount of the anticipated tax benefit realised by the participant.