Section 99 prescription: When can SARS reopen a tax assessment after three years? CSARS v Meiring Citrus

<p>When does prescription protect taxpayers from SARS issuing additional assessments? Section 99 of the Tax Administration Act generally bars SARS from issuing an additional assessment more than three years after the original assessment issued by SARS. Section 99(2) lifts that bar where the tax was not assessed due to fraud, misrepresentation or non-disclosure of material facts.</p><p>In this episode of Tax Break, I discuss the prescription aspect of the Western Cape High Court judgment in <em>CSARS v Meiring Citrus (Pty) Ltd</em>. SARS issued additional assessments roughly three and a half years after the original 2017 assessment, relying on the non-disclosure of notional interest of R1 197.52 on an experience account under a structured self-insurance policy, and a misrepresentation of the nature of the agreement.</p><p>I cover:</p><ul><li>The timeline of assessments, verifications and the audit, and why the dates matter under section 99</li><li>The two questions in section 99(2): is a listed conduct present, and did it cause the tax not to be assessed</li><li>The difference between the Tax Court and High Court analysis</li><li>Assessment of the materiality of a non-disclosure</li><li>Open questions: the role of information provided during a verification, and where taxpayer disclosure ends and SARS&#39;s duty to ask for more information begins</li><li>Practical lessons on completing the ITR14 accurately, including income statement and balance sheet line items, and why responses to verification requests should not be underestimated</li></ul><p>If you work with South African tax as an auditor, accountant, lawyer, wealth planner or corporate finance professional, this episode is for you. Contact me at <a href="mailto:pieter@pvdz.co.za">pieter@pvdz.co.za</a> for feedback or tax advice. More resources at <a href="https://tax.pvdz.co.za/">https://tax.pvdz.co.za</a>.</p><p> Keywords: prescription, section 99, Tax Administration Act, additional assessment, SARS audit, Meiring Citrus, non-disclosure, misrepresentation, ITR14, South African tax</p>