44. Refunds
(1) ……….
[Subsection (1) amended by section 37 of Act 97 of 1993, section 100 of Act 30 of 1998, section 98 of Act 53 of 1999 and section 88 of Act 20 of 2006 and deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012 except to the extent related to interest in respect of which the wording prior to the amendment applies]
(2) ……….
[Subsection (2) deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(3) The Commissioner shall not make a refund under Chapter 13 of the Tax Administration Act unless-
[Words preceding paragraph (a) substituted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(a) ………
[Paragraph (a) substituted by section 42 of Act 27 of 1997 and deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(b) ……….
[Paragraph (b) amended by section 98 of Act 53 of 1999, substituted by section 88 of Act 20 of 2006 and deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(c) the Commissioner is satisfied that any amount of output tax claimed to be refundable to a vendor will, if such amount has been borne by any other person, in turn be refunded by the vendor to such other person;
[Paragraph (c) amended by section 180 of Act 31 of 2013 effective on 1 April 2014]
(d) the vendor has furnished the Commissioner in writing with particulars of the enterprise’s banking account or account with a similar institution to enable the Commissioner to transfer a refund or other amount due to the vendor to such account: Provided that where the vendor which is-
(i) a company that is not a resident of the Republic requests that a refund or other amount be transferred to a bank account or an account with a similar institution in the Republic other than that account of the vendor; or
(ii)
(aa) a subsidiary company, as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008), of a holding company, as defined in section 1 of that Act, requests that a refund or other amount be transferred to the bank account or the account with a similar institution in the Republic of that holding company;
(bb) a subsidiary company, as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008), requests that a refund or other amount be transferred to the bank account or the account with a similar institution in the Republic of another subsidiary company of its holding company, as defined in section 1 of that Act; or
(cc) a holding company, as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008), requests that a refund or other amount be transferred to the bank account or the account with a similar institution in the Republic of its subsidiary company, as defined in section 1 of that Act,
[Paragraph (ii) substituted by section 180 of Act 31 of 2013 effective on 1 April 2014]
the vendor must notify the Commissioner in writing and must indemnify the Commissioner against any loss by the vendor or the State as a result of such instruction.
[Paragraph (d) added by section 168 of Act 60 of 2001 and proviso substituted by section 43 of Act 61 of 2008 effective on 1 April 2009]
(4)
(a) A refund of the amount of the excess contemplated in section 16(5) may only be made by the Commissioner if the return reflecting that amount is submitted within five years after the date on which the return was due to be submitted.
(b) The amount of an excess contemplated in section 16(5) is regarded as a payment to the National Revenue Fund if the amount is reflected on a return submitted after the period contemplated in paragraph (a).
[Subsection (4) amended by section 37 of Act 97 of 1993 and section 98 of Act 53 of 1999, substituted by section 88 of Act 20 of 2006, deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 and re-inserted by section 28 of Act 16 of 2016 effective on 26 October 2016]
(5) ……….
[Subsection (5) deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(6) ……….
[Subsection (6) substituted by section 100 of Act 30 of 1998 and deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(7) Where the vendor has failed to furnish a return for any tax period as required by this Act, the Commissioner may withhold payment of any amount refundable to the vendor under section 190 of the Tax Administration Act until the vendor has furnished such return as so required.
[Subsection (7) substituted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(8) ……….
[Subsection (8) substituted by section 42 of Act 27 of 1997 and deleted by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(9) The Commissioner may make or authorise a refund of any amount of tax which has become refundable to any person under the provisions of any regulation referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of ‘exported’ in section 1.
[Subsection (9) substituted by section 31 of Act 44 of 2014 effective on 20 January 2015]
(10) The amount determined under section 191(3) of the Tax Administration Act must be accounted for as provided in section 16(5), but any refundable amount (irrespective of the quantum thereof) is refundable in full to a vendor in respect of its final tax period on the cancellation of its registration as a vendor.
[Subsection (10) added by section 271 of Act 28 of 2011 effective on 1 October 2012]
(11)
(a) A refund of the amount erroneously paid, as contemplated in section 190(1)(b) of the Tax Administration Act, may only be made by the Commissioner where the claim for the refund of such erroneous payment is received by the Commissioner within five years after the date on which the erroneous payment was made;
(b) A claim for a refund under paragraph (a) shall be deemed not to have been received where the vendor has not furnished the Commissioner in writing with the particulars of the enterprise’s banking account or an account with a similar institution, as contemplated in subsection (3)(d), within 90 days from the submission of the claim.
[Subsection (11) added by section 12 of Act 22 of 2018]