The 1st of March 2005 marks the start of a new legislation prescribed by the Receiver of Revenue. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has stated that all invoices of R1 000 or more, issued in SA, must include the issuer`s VAT number as well as the recipient`s number. This ruling also applies to any debit or credit note relating to that invoice.
"If companies have not already made the effort to obtain all their customers` VAT numbers, they need to do so by the end of February," says Steven Cohen, MD of Softline Pastel. "Failing to comply with this will result in SARS disqualifying these customers from claiming input tax where a VAT number has been omitted. In addition, as a business, you need to make sure your suppliers have your VAT number so you can still claim back your input tax.
"Failure to comply with this new legislation could result in companies losing large sums of money they used to have every right to expect to claim back. It is therefore in everyone`s interest to comply immediately.
"Pastel Partner 2004 already caters for this legislation. In addition, the new releases of Pastel Xpress and Pastel Partner 2005, as well as Pastel Evolution will make it even easier," says Cohen.
"We are also redesigning our Pastel Stationery in line with this new legislation to clearly highlight the required VAT number field. All the relevant defaults and layouts in our new software release and the new Pastel Stationery will automatically be set up for ease-of-use and legal compliance," adds Cohen. "Along with the software upgrade, Pastel has also provided subscribers with an overview of this legislation and other legal ramifications they need to be aware of."
The new VAT regulations are not cumbersome, but could inconvenience companies as they are forced to obtain the VAT numbers of all vendors they conduct business with. Once obtained, however, using an updated accounting package to process invoices will ensure the regulations are constantly adhered to for as long as they are in effect.
"Pastel`s new software and stationery will automatically prompt businesses to include this important information, to ensure they don`t lose out on any input tax," concludes Cohen.
For more information, visit www.sars.gov.za. Alternatively, please contact Pastel directly on (011) 290 2710 or e-mail sales@pastel.com.
Share
Softline Pastel, a member of the Sage Group, is SA`s leading developer of accounting, payroll and related software applications. Pastel has over 160 000 users worldwide and is currently sold in 50 countries. The software is available in six different languages including English, Afrikaans, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and French.
For more information, please visit the Softline Pastel Web site on www.pastel.co.za.
Editorial contacts