Revenue Laws Amendment Act 74 of 2002

The Revenue Laws Amendment Act 74 of 2002 intends:

• to amend the Marketable Securities Tax Act, 1948 [repealed in December 2003], so as to take into account the consequential amendments as a result of the amendment to the corporate restructuring rules;
• to amend the Transfer Duty Act, 1949, so as:
  • to amend certain definitions to ensure that the acquisition of a contingent right in a trust and the acquisition of shares in certain companies are subject to transfer duty;
  • to provide that the person disposing of the contingent right or shares in the company and the trustee and public officer of the company shall be jointly and severably liable for the duty; and
  • to provide for consequential amendments as a result of the amendments to the corporate restructuring rules in the Income Tax Act, 1962;
• to amend the Estate Duty Act, 1955, so as to delete certain words in section 4 that have unintended consequences;
• to amend the Income Tax Act, 1962, so as:
  • to insert certain definitions;
  • to amend certain definitions;
  • to effect certain amendments in consequence of the introduction of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act, 2002;
  • to ensure that certain discretionary powers of the Commissioner are subject to objection and appeal;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to secrecy;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to a credit against normal tax of taxes paid to the government of a foreign country;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to allowances and advances paid to an employee by his or her employer and to provide specific guidance on the deemed daily expenses in respect of meals and incidental costs;
  • to further regulate the provisions that deem certain income to be from a source in the Republic;
  • to move the provisions relating to funds that may as a result of the currency or other restrictions of a foreign country not be remitted to the Republic into a separate section;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to controlled foreign companies;
  • to further regulate the taxation of foreign dividends;
  • to further regulate the taxation for foreign equity instruments; to delete an exemption which is already provided for elsewhere;
  • to further regulate the exemption of remuneration earned offshore where a person is outside the Republic for a specific period;
  • to withdraw an exemption granted in respect of an entity which has ceased its operations; to repeal provisions relating to marketing expenditure for exporters which is no longer in use;
  • to further regulate the strategic investment incentive provisions;
  • to address an anomaly in section 22(8) which resulted in capital assets now becoming trading stock and to avoid potential double taxation;
  • to insert certain definitions in the provisions relating to the taxation of film owners;
  • to further regulate the taxation of gains and losses on foreign exchange transactions;
  • to further regulate the determination of taxable income in foreign currency;
  • to provide that the final withholding tax shall not apply in respect of royalties paid to any controlled foreign company;
  • to effect certain consequential amendments resulting from the changes to the residence basis of taxation;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to company formations, share-for-share transactions, amalgamation transactions, intra- group transactions, unbundling transactions and liquidation distributions;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to secondary tax on companies and the provisions deeming certain distributions to be dividends;
  • to provide for certain consequential amendments that arose after the amendment to the tax period for farmers, fishers and diamond diggers;
  • to effect certain changes to the provisions relating to the submission of annual income tax returns;
  • to further regulate the provisions relating to record keeping to ensure that the Commissioner may prescribe the electronic form in which such records may be retained;
  • to extend the record keeping provisions to apply to all persons who are required to render a return and to extend the period to five years to align the record keeping provisions;
  • to extend the period of imprisonment for certain offences committed in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962;
  • to clarify the provisions relating to estimated assessments where foreign funds are held or assets are held offshore which have not been declared or accounted for;
  • to insert a new section to make provision for the withdrawal of assessments; to clarify the provisions relating to the jurisdiction of the courts;
  • to amend a definition to ensure that certain allowances will not form part of Standard Income Tax on Employees;
  • to exclude from tax allowances, benefits and privileges of a person stationed outside the Republic and employed by the national or provincial public entity substantially funded by Parliament where the benefits and privileges are attributable to the official's services rendered outside the Republic;
  • to provide for certain amendments to the capital gains tax provisions contained in the Eighth Schedule and certain consequential amendments as a result of these amendments;
• to amend the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, so as:
  • to amend provisions relating to the entry and removal of goods in bond;
  • to insert provisions relating to the manufacture, storage, disposal and use of biofuel;
  • to include the convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System as one of the instruments to which the interpretation of Part 1 of Schedule 1 shall be subject, to extend the scope of section 50 by including other non-customs and excise related conventions and agreements in respect of which the Commissioner may disclose information which may be in international, regional or national public interest, to provide for the establishment of joint land border posts and the mutual administration thereof by the Commissioner and the customs authority of the adjoining state, to provide for the circumstances where various licensees obtain goods from manufacturing warehouses in addition to the existing procedure for such a procedure in respect of storage warehouses, to provide for the licensing of certain distributors of fuel who are not also licensed manufacturers, to provide for the circumstance where an applicant for a refund of duty is unable to prove payment of duty;
  • to restate and amend in respect of agents provisions relating to the liability and termination of liability;
  • to link the fixing of the rate at which interest may be charged to the determination of the rate by the Minister of Finance;
  • to amend the provisions relating to a lien in respect of a debt due to the State;
  • provide for a lien on the right, title and interest of a customs debtor in anything subject to a lien which is the subject of a Credit Agreement and matters with regard to the filing of any statement with the clerk or registrar of a competent court for the recovery of such debt;
• to amend the Stamp Duties Act, 1968, so as to provide for certain consequential amendments as a result of the amendments to the corporate restructuring rules in the Income Tax Act, 1962;
• to amend the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, so as:
  • to introduce provisions relating to the electronic signature on documents,
  • to provide that section 105 applies in addition to the jurisdiction provisions contained in other legislation,
  • to re-introduce an exemption from VAT in respect of goods at which a flat rate of customs duty is levied in lieu of VAT and specific customs duties;
• to amend the Uncertificated Securities Tax Act, 1998, so as to provide for certain consequential amendments as a result of the amendment to the corporate reorganisation rules in the Income Tax Act, 1962;
• to amend the Skills Development Levies Act, 1999, so as:
  • to provide that interest must only be calculated from the day following the last day for payment; and
  • to clarify the provisions relating to jurisdiction of the courts;
• to amend the Revenue Laws Amendment Act, 2000, so as to clarify the date of commencement of section 4 of that Act;
• to amend the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2001, so as to provide for the date of commencement of section 3 to be retroactive;
• to amend the Revenue Laws Amendment Act, 2001, so as to provide correct an error in the Afrikaans text;
• to amend the Second Revenue Laws Amendment Act, 2001, so as:
  • to provide for the alignment of section 134 with section 71(1) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2001;
  • to provide for the short title and commencement of the Act;
  • to effect certain textual and consequential changes; and

• to provide for matters connected therewith.

Commencement

• 13 December 2002, unless otherwise indicated
• 1 April 2006, Section 103(2) - in respect of biodiesel
• 1 April 2003, Sections 6(1)(n), 111(1) and 114(1)(b)
• 2 April 2003, date of commencement of Section 108 (1)

Amendments