Pastel introduces VAT-compliant stationery to facilitate VAT legislation

"Although the new VAT legislation, as prescribed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), already came into effect on 1 March 2005, many companies are still not aware of the legislation and the implications of non-compliance," says Steven Cohen, managing director of Softline Pastel.

The legislation requires that all invoices of R3 000 or more, issued in SA, 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.

Companies that do not comply with this legislation will face penalties. The implications of non-compliance are as follows:

* For the supplier who does not include a recipient`s VAT number on documents as stipulated, where the recipient has provided the supplier with their VAT number, SARS has indicated they will impose a penalty on those suppliers.

* Recipients who do not ensure their VAT number is included on all documents as stipulated, will not be able to claim back their input tax. This has major financial consequences, as they will be incurring expenditure that they never used to. Those recipients who do claim VAT in circumstances that do not comply with the Receiver`s requirements, will be liable to repay the VAT back to SARS and will be charged a 10% penalty on the underpayment of VAT. They might also be charged interest and further penalties for not complying with the VAT legislation.

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An important point to note is that if the supplier has omitted your VAT number on the tax invoice, you can`t complete the details yourself. The tax invoice must be returned to the supplier so it can be corrected. Alternatively, if the tax invoice cannot be corrected, it must be cancelled, a credit note issued, and a new tax invoice issued with all the correct particulars.

"Softline Pastel aims to always stay abreast of the latest developments in the accounting software industry," says Cohen. "As a result, we have redesigned our range of pre-printed Pastel Approved Stationery in line with the new VAT legislation, to clearly highlight the required VAT number field. All the relevant defaults and layouts in Pastel Accounting 2005 are automatically set up for ease-of-use and legal compliance."

To further assist companies in complying with this legislation, Softline Pastel presents an introductory special offer on its new VAT compliant Pastel Stationery Range. Companies that upgrade to the new Pastel Accounting range of stationery will be save up to 24%, while customers will save up to 49% on the Evolution range. This is a limited offer that ends on 30 June 2005. To take advantage of this offer, please contact Pastel on (011) 290-2710. For more information about the VAT legislation, see the "FAQs on New Tax Invoice Requirements" brochure on the SARS Web site.