Public Officer Archives

Oh dear! What is SARS thinking? In the good old days, we had to appoint a Public Officer for each company. That was the person who was to be responsible for submitting the tax returns and responding to SARS’ correspondence. Then suddenly, in about March 2021, we found that we were unable to submit certain returns or get a Tax Clearance for our newer companies, because there was no “Representative” appointed. So what happened to the Public Officer? If you check out SARS’ document “Enhancements for Tax Practitioners and representatives” you will see that they refer to “the Public…

So many people who come to see me fail to understand the extent of their risk as shareholders and directors. Few of them ask about their being the Public Officer, but that’s because they have probably no knowledge of their appointment.
Most of their fears are the result of SARS’ low level staff believing that they have powers far beyond the law. So let’s deal with each of them in turn.

In a nutshell, there aren’t any, despite what SARS imply when they talk to us. SARS love to make out that the Public Officer can be held liable for the tax sins of the company, but there’s nothing in the legislation to support this. What is important is that all companies must appoint a Public Officer and that failure to do so can lead to penalties of R25 per day, which can amount to quite a lot of money over, say, 365 days. I’ve never known SARS to impose this penalty, but there’s always a first time. So what is…

Public Officer

SARS now requires a representative for each taxpayer.

Can SARS attack you as a shareholder, director or public officer of your company?

The risks at SARS of being a Public Officer for your company