ABC (Pty) Ltd v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services (VAT 1237) [2016] ZATC 1; 78 SATC 272 (24 March 2016)

ABC (Pty) Ltd v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services (VAT 1237) [2016] ZATC 1; 78 SATC 272 (24 March 2016)

The court held that the amended provisions of section 39(7) of the VAT Act, as substituted by the Taxation Laws Second Amendment Act, 2009, applied to any consideration of remission of interest imposed from 1 April 2010. The interest in question was imposed from 1 April 2010, and thus the Commissioner was correct to apply the amended criteria. The appellant's arguments that the pre-amendment provisions should apply were rejected, as the statute clearly provided for the amended regime to govern interest imposed on or after the effective date. The court found no basis to remit the matter to the Commissioner for reconsideration under the previous legislative regime.

Citation
[2016] ZATC 1
Parties
Appellant: ABC (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service
Court
Tax Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
24 March 2016
Case Number
VAT 1237
Procedural Posture
Tax Appeal / Appeal Against Disallowance of Objection to Interest Imposed on Unpaid VAT
Outcome
Appeal dismissed. The amended provisions of section 39(7) of the VAT Act apply to remission of interest imposed from 1 April 2010. Each party to pay its own costs.
Judges
Lopes
Legal Topics
Value Added Tax, Remission of Interest, Statutory Interpretation, Tax Penalties
Tax Law Value Added Tax Remission of Interest Statutory Interpretation Tax Penalties

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 3 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

ABC (Pty) Ltd

Appellant

Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Tax Appeal / Appeal Against Disallowance of Objection to Interest Imposed on Unpaid VAT

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the remission of interest imposed on unpaid VAT should be considered under the pre-amendment or post-amendment provisions of section 39(7) of the VAT Act.
  2. 2 Whether the Commissioner correctly applied the amended criteria for remission of interest from 1 April 2010.
  3. 3 Whether the appellant is entitled to remission of interest under the previous legislative regime.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the amended provisions of section 39(7) of the VAT Act, as substituted by the Taxation Laws Second Amendment Act, 2009, applied to any consideration of remission of interest imposed from 1 April 2010. The interest in question was imposed from 1 April 2010, and thus the Commissioner was correct to apply the amended criteria. The appellant's arguments that the pre-amendment provisions should apply were rejected, as the statute clearly provided for the amended regime to govern interest imposed on or after the effective date. The court found no basis to remit the matter to the Commissioner for reconsideration under the previous legislative regime.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed. The amended provisions of section 39(7) of the VAT Act apply to remission of interest imposed from 1 April 2010. Each party to pay its own costs.

Orders

  • The provisions of section 39(7) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, as amended by section 39 of the Taxation Laws Second Amendment Act, 2009, are applicable to any consideration of the remission of the interest imposed in this matter by the Commissioner on the appellant in terms of section 39(1)(a)(ii) of the...
  • Each party is to pay its own costs.