Category: Section 240 (TAA) – Registration of tax practioners

Section 240

 

  1. Paragraph (1)(b) substituted by section 82 of Act 21 of 2012 effective on 1 October 2012.

 

  1. Words following paragraph (1)(b) substituted by section 82 of Act 21 of 2012 effective on 1 October 2012.

 

  1. Subsection (2) amended by section 82 of Act 21 of 2012 effective on 1 October 2012 and substituted by section 81 of Act 39 of 2013 effective on 20 December 2012.

 

  1. Subsection (2A) inserted by section 81 of Act 39 of 2013 effective on 20 December 2012.

 

  1. Words preceding paragraph (3)(a) substituted by section 60 of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 1 October 2012.

 

  1. Paragraph (3)(a) substituted by section 82 of Act 21 of 2012 and amended by section 60 of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 1 October 2012.

 

  1. Paragraph (3)(b) amended by section 60 of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 1 October 2012.

 

  1. Paragraph (3)(c) added by section 60 of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 1 October 2012.

 

  1. Subsection (4) added by section 60 of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 1 October 2012.

Section 240 (TAA) – Registration of tax practitioners

Posted on by admin_kmos

240.    Registration of tax practitioners

(1)     Every natural person who-

(a)     provides advice to another person with respect to the application of a tax Act; or

(b)     completes or assists in completing a return by another person,

must-

(i)      register with or fall under the jurisdiction of a ‘recognised controlling body’ by the later of 1 July 2013 or 21 business days after the date on which that person for the first time provides the advice or completes or assists in completing the return; and

(ii)     register with SARS as a tax practitioner in  the prescribed form and manner, within 21 business days after the date on which that person for the first time provides the advice or completes or assists in completing the return.

(2)     The provisions of this section do not apply in respect of a person who only-

(a)     provides the advice or completes or assists in completing a return for no consideration to that person or his or her employer or a connected person in relation to that employer or that person;

(b)     provides the advice in anticipation of or in the course of any litigation to which the Commissioner is a party or where the Commissioner is a complainant;

(c)     provides the advice as an incidental or subordinate part of providing goods or other services to another person;

(d)     provides the advice or completes or assists in completing a return –

(i)      to or in respect of the employer by whom that person is employed on a full-time basis or to or in respect of the employer and connected persons in relation to the employer; or

(ii)     under the supervision of a registered tax practitioner who has assigned or approved the assignment of those functions to the person.

(2A)  A tax practitioner who has assigned or approved the assignment of functions to a person under subsection (2)(d)(ii) is regarded as accountable for the actions of that person in performing those functions for the purposes of a complaint to a recognised controlling body under section 241(2).

(3)     A person may not register as a tax practitioner under subsection (1) or SARS may deregister a registered tax practitioner if the person or the registered tax practitioner, as the case may be-

(a)     during the preceding five years has been removed from a related profession by a ‘controlling body’ for serious misconduct;

(b)     during the preceding five years has been convicted (whether in the Republic or elsewhere) of-

(i)      theft, fraud, forgery or uttering a forged document, perjury or an offence under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 12 of 2004); or

(ii)     any other offence involving dishonesty,

for which the person has been sentenced to a period of imprisonment exceeding two years without the option of a fine or to a fine exceeding the amount prescribed in the Adjustment of Fines Act, 1991 (Act 101 of 1991);

[Paragraph (b) amended by section 60(b) of Act 44 of 2014 and by section 24(a) of Act 22 of 2018.]

(c) during the preceding five years has been convicted of a serious tax offence; or

[Paragraph (c) added by section 60(b) of Act 44 of 2014 and amended by section 24(b) of Act 22 of 2018.]

(d) during the preceding 12 months has for an aggregate period of at least six months not been tax compliant to the extent referred to in section 256(3) and has failed to—

(i) demonstrate that he or she has been compliant for that period; or

(ii) remedy the non-compliance,

within the period specified in a notice by SARS.

[Subsection (3) amended by section 60(a) of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 1 October 2012. Paragraph (d) added by section 24(c) of Act 22 of 2018.]

(4)     If prosecution for a serious tax offence has been instituted but not finalised against a person or registered tax practitioner and if the person or registered tax practitioner continues with the commission of a serious tax offence after the criminal proceedings have been instituted, a senior SARS official may-

(a)     not register the person as a registered tax practitioner; or

(b)     suspend the registration of the registered tax practitioner,

for the duration of the criminal proceedings commencing on the date that prosecution is instituted and ending on the date that the person or registered tax practitioner is finally acquitted.