Unicus Tax Update

This training session examines the Company AF judgment and its impact on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR), paragraph 43A, the choice principle, dividend-stripping arrangements, SARS’s litigation powers, and penalty disputes. Learn how the decision reshapes tax planning, procedural strategy, and the interpretation of anti-avoidance provisions in South African tax law.

This training session unpacks the Constitutional Court’s decision in Lueven Metals and its significance for tax interpretation. It explains why text, context and purpose must be read together, but cannot be used to stretch statutory wording beyond what it can reasonably bear. The session highlights the VAT zero-rating dispute, SARS’ successful argument, and the broader lesson that commercially attractive interpretations must still be grounded in the actual words of the tax provision.

Explore the key changes in SARS’ VDP Guide Issue 2, including eligibility, audit timing, voluntariness, penalties, cross-tax disclosure risks, rejection decisions and the finality of VDP agreements.

In this practical training session, we unpack Tax Court judgment IT 24852 (Taxpayer EPP v SARS), where a taxpayer sought to deduct R38.8 million after customs and excise refund claims became time-barred. Explore the critical distinction between expenditure and loss under section 11(a), the timing of deductions, the impact of prescribed refund claims, understatement penalties, interest, and potential post-judgment remedies through reduced assessments and prescription exceptions under the Tax Administration Act

Binding Private Ruling 428 examines the income tax consequences of a Delayed Contribution Equity Investment Structure (DCEIS), confirming that phased share subscription proceeds constitute contributed tax capital rather than gross income.

The ruling also clarifies the interaction between sections 11D and 8(4)(a), confirming that qualifying R&D expenditure remains deductible without triggering recoupment consequences under the Income Tax Act.