VAT registrations- Our opinion on the practical side of things

From our experience, an average SARS visit takes about 3 hours. 2 Hours waiting (so long because of personal income tax filing season currently), and one hour about for the VAT interview.

 

About the VAT interview, the person doing the interview should know the business well. All the questions the consultant will ask in the interview are crucial in determining whether the business is eligible to obtain a VAT number.
SARS has very specific requirements, if you comply with everything perfectly then one visit is enough. If all your documents aren’t as specific as they want and you want your accountant to “try” with other documents then don’t be angry with him if he tells you he needs other documents and has to go in again. SARS is efficient when all your things are exactly as they want it.

 

The other thing with SARS is that every time you go in you may not necessarily see the same consultant. It’s good for combating corruption. But bad for efficiency, because one consultant will pick up a fault with the application, and then when you come back the next time, another consultant will find another fault. And there is very little you can do about this in that case.

 

If they issue you with a VAT number immediately, please give feedback here so we can take all of our registrations to that branch. Fraud with the VAT system is wide-spread, so SARS has had no choice to become ultra-strict with their checks in recent times. The application goes through multiple channels for verification of all details. They may even visit the business premises to verify that the business is in fact operational, and that a VAT number is in fact warranted.

 

We had a VAT registration number issued recently on the 12/08/2013. A clerk took in the application on the 03/07/2013. Every time we called the call center to find out if the number is issued, we asked them for a time frame for a VAT registration number to be issued, and all the consultants said the same thing, that SARS rules is that there is no time frame. We have not verified that this in fact SARS policy. So technically, you can wait forever. Practically 4-6 weeks is a good gauge. Sometimes it will be sooner. If you wait longer than 6 weeks, you need to go into the branch and complain to the branch manager.

 

Make copies of everything you submit. Let them date stamp your copy when you submit the documents for your records. Ask them to give you a case number for the submission as well. You can use this when you do follow-ups.

 

When it is issued, SARS will issue you with a VAT103 form. It states all the details of the registration. Keep this original document safe. It is your proof that the business is registered for VAT.