Tax Clearance Certificate

Transcription

1 June 2015 MY SMALL BUSINESS Tax Clearance Certificate How to apply

2 A Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) confirms that you are a taxpayer registered with SARS and that your tax affairs are in order, meaning you have no returns outstanding or outstanding tax debts. A TCC is issued free of charge by SARS and may be required for: Tenders when applying for a tender or bid advertised Good Standing to confirm that the applicant is tax compliant Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) Emigration. When you apply for a TCC you will receive an immediate response from SARS to inform you whether your application for tenders or good standing has been approved, declined or selected for review. This will be sent to the address that you have supplied to SARS. What do I need to do? Depending on your requirements, you will need to complete one of the following: TCC-001 Application for a Tax Clearance Certificate in respect of Tenders & Good Standing IT 21 (a) Application for a Tax Clearance Certificate in respect of citizens emigrating from South Africa FIA-001 Tax Clearance Certificate in respect of Foreign Investment Allowance for Individuals. A TCC will only be issued by SARS where the following requirements have been met: The taxpayer must be registered and have a tax reference number [e.g. Income Tax and/or Pay-As- You-Earn (PAYE) and/or Value-Added Tax (VAT)] before applying for a TCC No outstanding debt for all taxes (including Secondary Tax on Companies (STC), Administrative Penalties and Employees Tax) Where there is a debt (as a taxpayer it is the money that you owe to SARS) οο A deferred arrangement has been made and adhered to

3 οο The tax debt is being compromised οο A tax debt has been suspended pending objection or appeal οο The debt does not exceed R1000 All returns and/or declarations must be up to date and in the process of being assessed by SARS The registration details on the TCC-001 must correspond with the information on the SARS systems No duplicate TCCs exist, except where a current TCC will expire within two months. What channels can I use to apply? You can apply via one of the following channels: 1. efiling (Tender/Good Standing only) 2. SARS branch (Tender/Good Standing/FIA/ Emigration). All TCCs have to be collected at your nearest SARS branch once it has been approved. How do I apply for a TCC via efiling? Note: You must be registered on efiling as a user of efiling. This is a separate process from registering as a taxpayer. To register for efiling go to Once you have logged on to efiling you click the SERVICES tab in the top left hand corner. You then click the Tax Clearance Certificates tab on the left hand side of the screen. After this you will see the Application tab which you click and then you can complete your application. In order to apply via efiling, either the Income Tax reference number or the Value-Added Tax (VAT) number must reflect on the efiler s profile. It is also important to note that it is mandatory to complete the Income Tax reference number field on the application. You can apply on efiling, from anywhere, 24 hours a day and it s quick and easy. Other benefits are: You can easily track the status of your application with an online reference number You can view the history of your Tax Clearance applications

4 You can collect the Tax Clearance Certificate at your nearest SARS branch when it is approved. Please note: When considering an application, SARS takes into account all tax reference numbers linked to the taxpayer, whether the taxpayer is an individual, company or trust. A TCC will only be issued to a taxpayer if SARS records reflect that the taxpayer is compliant. In the case of a business with sub-branches, all branches must be tax compliant before any single branch can receive a TCC. What name will be on the certificate? The trading name that will be printed on the TCC will be the one designated on the TCC application. Where a trading name is not indicated on the TCC application, the TCC will be issued with the trading name on SARS records. How long will it take before I receive my TCC? SARS will issue the certificate within the following timeframes based on the TCC types: 1. TCC for Tender/Good Standing If the taxpayer is compliant the TCC will be issued immediately, provided the taxpayer is compliant, otherwise five (5) working days from the date the application is duly received if non-compliance is rectified at a SARS branch 2. If cheque payment is made to rectify noncompliance, the application will require seven (7) working days 3. TCC for emigrants and FIA for amounts less than or equal to R4 million five (5) working days from the date the application is duly received 4. TCC for emigrants and FIA for amounts greater than R4 million this takes longer due to the audit process. You would be notified about the audit.

5 Do you need to rectify a non-compliance issue? If you have to submit a return so that you can get a TCC, this will delay your application by up to five days as SARS will have to check that you have complied fully with what was required. The process of issuing a TCC will begin once SARS has determined that you are compliant. Payments by cheque In instances where taxpayers make payments by cheque to rectify any non-compliance, the decision on whether to grant a TCC will be delayed for a period of seven working days to ensure that the cheque is cleared. Registered details Please note that where the registered details applied on the TCC do not match with SARS s records (e.g. the company registration number captured on the application does not match the company registration number on SARS s records), the TCC application could be declined and will have to be re-submitted. To avoid these unnecessary delays you must ensure that your registered details are accurate and up-to-date across all the tax types you are registered for at SARS.

6 More information For more information on the tax clearance process, please go to or contact the SARS Contact Centre on SARS (7277). You can also learn more about TCCs at our free tax workshops. Schedules of our Taxpayer Education Workshops are available on the SARS website: more about taxes DISCLAIMER The information contained in this guide is intended as guidance only and is not considered to be a legal reference, nor is it a binding ruling. The information does not take the place of legislation and readers who are in doubt regarding any aspect of the information displayed in the guide should refer to the relevant legislation, or seek a formal opinion from a suitably qualified individual. For more information about the contents of this publication you may: Visit the SARS website at Visit your nearest SARS branch Contact your registered tax practitioner o If calling from within South Africa, contact the SARS Contact Centre on SARS (7277) o If calling from outside South Africa, contact the SARS Contact Centre on (only between 8am and 4pm South African time).