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Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act No. 89 of 1991)

Part II : Value-Added Tax

12. Exempt supplies

 

The supply of any of the following goods or services shall be exempt from the tax imposed under section 7(1)(a):

(a) The supply of any financial services , but excluding the supply of financial services which, but for this paragraph, would be charged with tax at the rate of zero per cent under section 11;
(b) the supply by any association not for gain of any donated goods or services or any other goods made or manufactured by such association if at least 80 per cent of the value of the materials used in making or manufacturing such other goods consists of donated goods;
(c) the supply of—
(i) a dwelling under an agreement for the letting and hiring thereof, and any ‘right of occupation’ as defined in section 1 of the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act, 1988 (Act No. 65 of 1988);
(ii) lodging or board and lodging—
(aa) by the employer of the recipient (including an employer as defined in paragraph 1 of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act), where the recipient is entitled to occupy the accommodation as a benefit of his or her office or employment and his or her right thereto is limited to the period of his or her employment or the term of his or her office or a period agreed upon by the supplier and the recipient;
(bb) by the employer of the recipient, where the employer operates a hostel or boarding establishment mainly for the benefit of the employees otherwise than for the purpose of making profit; or
(cc) [Section 12(c)(ii)(cc) deleted by the Amendment of Taxation Laws Act No. 9 of 2006] ;
(d) the supply of leasehold land by way of letting (not being a grant or sale of the lease of that land) to the extent that that land is used or is to be used for the principal purpose of accommodation in a dwelling erected or to be erected on that land;
(e) the supply of land (together with any improvements to such land existing on the date on which the supplier became contractually obliged to supply such land and such existing improvements to the recipient) where such land is situated outside the Republic and such supply is made by way of sale or by way of letting;
(f) the supply of any services to any of its members in the course of the management of-
(i) a body corporate as defined in section 1 of the Sectional Titles Act, 1986 (Act No. 95 of 1986); or
(ii) a share block company; or
(iii) any housing development scheme as defined in the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act, 1988 (Act No. 65 of 1988); or
(iv) any association of persons (other than a company registered or deemed to be registered under the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008), any co-operative, close corporation or trust, but including a non-profit company as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008)) where the Commissioner is satisfied that, subject to such conditions as he or she may deem necessary, such association of persons—
(A) has been formed solely for purposes of managing the collective interests of residential property use or ownership of all its members, which includes expenditure applicable to the common immovable property of such members and the collection of levies for which such members are liable; and
(B) is not permitted to distribute any of its funds to any person other than a similar association of persons;

where the cost of supplying such services is met out of contributions levied by such body corporate or share block company or under such housing development scheme of association, as the case may be: Provided that this paragraph shall not apply or shall apply to a limited extent where such body corporate or share block company, scheme or association applis in writing to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner, having regard to the circumstances of the case, directs with effect from a future date that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to that body corporate, share block company, scheme or association or that the provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to a limited extent specified by him: Provided further that this paragraph shall not apply to the services supplied by any body corporate, share block company, scheme or association which manages a property time-sharing scheme as defined in section 1 of the Property Time-sharing Control Act, 1983 (Act No. 75 of 1983);

(g) the supply by any person in the course of a transport business of any service comprising the transport by that person in a vehicle (other than a game viewing vehicle contemplated in paragraph (e) of the definition of "motor car" in section 1) operated by him of fare-paying passengers and their personal effects by road or railway (excluding a funicular railway), not being a supply of any such service which, but for this paragraph, would be charged with tax at the rate of zero per cent under section 11(2)(a);
(h)
(i) the supply of educational services—
(aa) provided by the State or a school registered under the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996), or a public college or private college established, declared or registered as such under the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006 (Act No. 16 of 2006);
(bb) by an institution that provides higher education on a full time, part-time or distance basis and which is established or deemed to be established as a public higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997), or is declared as a public higher education institution under that Act, or is registered or conditionally registered as a private higher education institution under that Act; or
(cc) by any public benefit organization as contemplated in paragraph (a) of the definition of "public benefit organization" contained in section 30(1)of the Income Tax Act that has been approved by the Commissioner in terms of section 30(3) of that Act and which has been formed for—
(A) adult basic education and training including literacy and numeracy education, registered under the Adult Basic Education and Training Act, 2000 (Act No. 52 of 2000), vocational training or technical education; or
(B) education and training of religious or social workers; or
(C) training or education of persons with a permanent physical or mental impairment;
(D) [Section 12(h)(i)(cc)(D) deleted by Revenue Laws Amendment Act No. 32 of 2004]
(E) provision of bridging courses to enable indigent persons to enter a higher education institution as envisaged in subparagraph (bb);
(ii) the supply by a school, university, technikon or college solely or mainly for the benefit of its learners or students of goods or services (including domestic goods and services) necessary for and subordinate and incidental to the supply of services referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, if such goods or services are supplied for a consideration in the form of school fees, tuition fees or payment for lodging or board and lodging; or

[Section 12(h)(ii) substituted by section 133(1) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 25 of 2015)]

(iii) the supply of services to learners or students or intended learners or students by the Joint Matriculation Board referred to in section 15 of the Universities Act, 1955 (Act No. 61 of 1955);

Provided that vocational or technical training provided by an employer to his employees and employees of an employer who is a connected person in relation to that employer does not constitute the supply of an educational service for the purposes of this paragraph;

(i) the supply of any goods or services by an employee organization to any of its members to the extent that the consideration for such supply consists of membership contributions.
(j) the service of caring for children by a creché or an after-school care centre.
(k) the supply of goods in the Republic by any person that is not a resident of the Republic and that is not a vendor, other than the supply of goods by an inbound duty and tax free shop, which have not been entered for home consumption: Provided that this paragraph shall not apply where such person applies in writing to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner, having regard to the circumstances of the case, directs that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to such person;
(l) the supply of any goods or services by a bargaining council that is established in terms of section 27 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995), to any of its members in terms of section 28(1) of that Act;

[Section 12(l) substituted by section 97(1) of Act No. 43 of 2014]

(m) the supply of any goods or services by a political party registered in terms of section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996 (Act No. 51 of 1996), to any of its members to the extent that the consideration for such supply consists of membership contributions.