Public Service Commission Act, 1997
R 385
Tax Administration Act, 2011 (Act No. 28 of 2011)Chapter 1 : Definitions1. Definitions |
In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise, a term which is assigned a meaning in another tax Act has the meaning so assigned, and the following terms have the following meaning:
"additional assessment"
is an assessment referred to in section 92;
"administration of a tax Act"
has the meaning assigned in section 3(2);
"administrative non-compliance penalty"
has the meaning assigned in section 208;
"assessment"
means the determination of the amount of a tax liability or refund, by way of self-assessment by the taxpayer or assessment by SARS;
"asset"
includes—
| (a) | property of whatever nature, whether movable or immovable, corporeal or incorporeal; and |
| (b) | a right or interest of whatever nature to or in the property; |
[Definition inserted by section 36(c) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 21 of 2012)]
‘‘beneficial owner’’—
| (a) | of a company, has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008); |
| (b) | of a partnership, means a natural person who, directly or indirectly, ultimately owns, or exercises effective control of, the partnership, and includes— |
| (i) | every partner, including every member of a partnership en commandite, an anonymous partnership or any similar partnership; |
| (ii) | if a partner in the partnership is a legal person or a natural person acting on behalf of a partnership or in pursuance of the provisions of a trust agreement, the beneficial owner of that legal person, partnership or trust; and |
| (iii) | the natural person who exercises executive control over the partnership; and |
| (c) | of a trust, has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the Trust Property Control Act, 1988 (Act No. 57 of 1988). |
[Definition inserted by section 25 of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2023, GG49947, dated 22 December 2023 ]
"biometric information"
means biological data used to authenticate the identity of a natural person by means of—
| (a) | facial recognition; |
| (b) | fingerprint recognition; |
| (c) | voice recognition; |
| (d) | iris or retina recognition; and |
| (e) | other, less intrusive biological data, as may be prescribed by the Minister in a regulation issued under section 257; |
"business day"
means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, and for purposes of determining the days or a period allowed for complying with the provisions of Chapter 9, excludes the days between 16 December of each year and 15 January of the following year, both days inclusive;
"Commissioner"
means the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service appointed in terms of section 6 of the SARS Act or the Acting Commissioner designated in terms of section 7 of that Act;
"company"
has the meaning assigned in section 1 of the Income Tax Act;
"connected person"
means a connected person as defined in section 1 of the Income Tax Act;
"customs and excise legislation"
means the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No. 91 of 1964), the Customs Duty Act, 2014 (Act No. 30 of 2014), or the Customs Control Act, 2014 (Act No. 31 of 2014);
[Definition substituted by section 33(a) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 23 of 2015)]
"date of assessment"
means—
| (a) | in the case of an assessment by SARS, the date of the issue of the notice of assessment; or |
| (b) | in the case of self-assessment by the taxpayer— |
| (i) | if a return is required, the date that the return is submitted; or |
| (ii) | if no return is required, the date of the last payment of the tax for the tax period or, if no payment was made in respect of the tax for the tax period, the effective date; |
"date of sequestration"
means—
| (a) | the date of voluntary surrender of an estate, if accepted by a court; or |
| (b) | the date of provisional sequestration of an estate, if a final order of sequestration is granted by a court; |
"Diamond Export Levy Act"
means the Diamond Export Levy Act, 2007 (Act No. 15 of 2007);
"Diamond Export Levy (Administration) Act"
means the Diamond Export Levy (Administration) Act, 2007 (Act No. 14 of 2007);
"document"
means anything that contains a written, sound or pictorial record, or other record of information, whether in physical or electronic form;
"effective date"
is the date described in section 187(3), (4) and (5) of this Act, or the date from when interest is otherwise calculated under a tax Act;
[Definition substituted by section 36(b) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 21 of 2012)]
"Estate Duty Act"
means the Estate Duty Act, 1955 (Act No. 45 of 1955);
"fair market value"
means the price which could be obtained upon a sale of an asset between a willing buyer and a willing seller dealing at arm’s length in an open market;
"income tax"
means normal tax referred to in section 5 of the Income Tax Act;
"Income Tax Act"
means the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962);
"information"
includes information generated, recorded, sent, received, stored or displayed by any means;
"international tax agreement"
means—
| (a) | an agreement entered into with the government of another country in accordance with a tax Act; or |
| (b) | any other agreement entered into between the competent authority of the Republic and the competent authority of another country relating to the automatic exchange of information under an agreement referred to in paragraph (a); |
[Definition substituted by section 37(a) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 44 of 2014)]
"international tax standard"
means—
| (a) | the OECD Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters; |
| (b) | the Country-by-Country Reporting Standard for Multinational Enterprises specified by the Minister; or |
| (c) | any other international standard for the exchange of tax-related information between countries specified by the Minister, |
subject to such changes as specified by the Minister in a regulation issued under section 257;
[Definition inserted by section 33(b) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 23 of 2015)]
"jeopardy assessment"
is an assessment referred to in section 94;
"judge"
means a judge of the High Court of South Africa, whether in chambers or otherwise;
"magistrate"
means a judicial officer as defined in section 1 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1944 (Act No. 32 of 1944), whether in chambers or otherwise;
"Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (Administration) Act"
means the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (Administration) Act, 2008 (Act No. 29 of 2008);
"Minister"
means the Minister of Finance;
"official publication"
means a binding general ruling, interpretation note, practice note or public notice issued by a senior SARS official or the Commissioner;
"original assessment"
is an assessment referred to in section 91;
"outstanding tax debt"
means a tax debt not paid by the day referred to in section 162;
[Definition inserted by section 30(a) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No. 39 of 2012)]
"practice generally prevailing"
has the meaning assigned in section 5;
"premises"
includes a building, aircraft, vehicle, vessel or place;
"prescribed rate"
has the meaning assigned in section 189(3);
"presiding officer"
is the person referred to in section 50(1);
"Promotion of Access to Information Act"
means the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000);
"public notice"
means a notice published in the Government Gazette;
"public officer"
is an officer referred to in section 246(1), (2) and (3);
"reduced assessment"
is an assessment referred to in section 93;
"registered tax practitioner"
means a person registered under section 240;
[Definition inserted by section 36(c) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 21 of 2012)]
"relevant material"
means any information, document or thing that in the opinion of SARS is foreseeably relevant for the administration of a tax Act as referred to in section 3;
[Definition substituted by section 37(b) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 44 of 2014)]
"reportable arrangement"
has the meaning assigned in section 35;
"representative taxpayer"
has the meaning assigned in section 153(1);
"responsible third party"
has the meaning assigned under section 158;
"return"
means a form, declaration, document or other manner of submitting information to SARS that incorporates a self-assessment, is a basis on which an assessment is to be made by SARS or incorporates relevant material required under section 25, 26 or 27 or a provision under a tax Act requiring the submission of a return;
[Definition substituted by section 37(c) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 44 of 2014)]
"SARS"
means the South African Revenue Service established under the SARS Act;
"SARS Act"
means the South African Revenue Service Act, 1997 (Act No. 34 of 1997);
"SARS confidential information"
has the meaning assigned under section 68(1);
"SARS official"
means—
| (a) | the Commissioner; |
| (b) | an employee of SARS; or |
| (c) | a person contracted or engaged by SARS, other than an external legal representative, for purposes of the administration of a tax Act and who carries out the provisions of a tax Act under the control, direction or supervision of the Commissioner; |
[Definition substituted by section 47 of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2016 (Act No. 16 of 2016)]
"Securities Transfer Tax Act"
means the Securities Transfer Tax Act, 2007 (Act No. 25 of 2007);
"Securities Transfer Tax Administration Act"
means the Securities Transfer Tax Administration Act, 2007 (Act No. 26 of 2007);
"self-assessment"
means a determination of the amount of tax payable under a tax Act by a taxpayer and—
| (a) | submitting a return which incorporates the determination of the tax; or |
| (b) | if no return is required, making a payment of the tax; |
"senior SARS official"
is a SARS official referred to in section 6(3);
"serious tax offence"
means a tax offence for which a person may be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period exceeding two years without the option of a fine or to a fine exceeding the equivalent amount of a fine under the Adjustment of Fines Act, 1991 (Act No. 101 of 1991);
"shareholder"
means a person who holds a beneficial interest in a company as defined in the Income Tax Act;
[Definition substituted by section 36(e) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2012 (Act No. 21 of 2012)]
"Skills Development Levies Act"
means the Skills Development Levies Act, 1999 (Act No. 9 of 1999);
"tax"
for purposes of administration under this Act, includes a tax, duty, levy, royalty, fee, contribution, penalty, interest and any other moneys imposed under a tax Act;
"taxable event"
means an occurrence which affects or may affect the liability of a person to tax;
"tax Act"
means this Act or an Act, or portion of an Act, referred to in section 4 of the SARS Act, excluding customs and excise legislation;
[Definition substituted by section 33(c) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 23 of 2015)]
"tax board"
means a tax board established under section 108;
"tax court"
means a court established under section 116;
"tax debt"
means an amount referred to in section 169(1);
[Definition substituted by section 30(d) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No. 39 of 2012)]
"tax offence"
means an offence in terms of a tax Act or any other offence involving—
| (a) | fraud on SARS or on a SARS official relating to the administration of a tax Act; or |
| (b) | theft of moneys due or paid to SARS for the benefit of the National Revenue Fund; |
[Definition substituted by section 37(e) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 44 of 2014)
"Tax Ombud"
is the person appointed by the Minister under section 14;
"tax period"
means, in relation to—
| (a) | income tax, a year of assessment as defined in section 1 of the Income Tax Act; |
| (b) | provisional tax or employees’ tax, skills development levies as determined in section 3 of the Skills Development Levies Act, and contributions as determined in section 6 of the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act, the period in respect of which the amount of tax payable must be determined under the relevant tax Act; |
| (c) | value-added tax, a tax period determined under section 27 of the Value-Added Tax Act or the period or date of the taxable event in respect of which the amount of tax payable must be determined under that Act; |
| (d) | royalty payable on the transfer of mineral and petroleum resources, a year of assessment as defined in section 1 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (Administration) Act; |
| (e) | the levy on diamond exports as determined under section 2 of the Diamond Export Levy Act, the assessment period referred to in section 1 of the Diamond Export Levy (Administration) Act; |
| (f) | securities transfer tax, the period referred to in section 3 of the Securities Transfer Tax Administration Act; |
| (g) | any other tax, the period or date of the taxable event in respect of which the amount of tax payable must be determined under a tax Act; or |
| (h) | a jeopardy assessment, the period determined under this Act; |
"taxpayer"
has the meaning assigned under section 151;
"taxpayer information"
has the meaning assigned under section 67(1)(b);
"taxpayer reference number"
is the number referred to in section 24;
"thing"
includes a corporeal or incorporeal thing;
"this Act"
includes the regulations and a public notice issued under this Act;
"Transfer Duty Act"
means the Transfer Duty Act, 1949 (Act No. 40 of 1949);
"understatement penalty"
means a penalty imposed by SARS in accordance with Part A of Chapter 16;
"Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act"
means the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act, 2002 (Act No. 4 of 2002);
"Value-Added Tax Act"
means the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act No. 89 of 1991);
"withholding agent"
has the meaning assigned under section 156.
