PRESIDENT'S
OFFICE
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- No. 1047.
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19 July 1995
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NO. 19 OF 1995:
TAX AMNESTY ACT, 1995.
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- It is hereby notified that
the President has assented to the following Act which is hereby
published for general information:-
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ACT
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- To provide for an amnesty
in respect of certain taxes and duties; and to provide for matters
connected therewith.
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(Afrikaans
text signed by the President.) (Assented to 10 July 1995.)
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- BE IT ENACTED by the
Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-
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- Definitions
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- 1. (1) For the purposes of
this Act any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned
in the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act
No. 58 of 1962), the Stamp Duties
Act, 1968 (Act No. 77 of 1968), the Sales Tax Act, 1978 (Act No. 103
of 1978), the Value-Added
Tax Act, 1991 (Act No. 89 of 1991), or any
law of a former state or territory imposing a tax or duty similar to
the tax or duty
imposed by any of the said Acts, bears (having
regard to the context within which such word or expression is used)
the meaning
so assigned, and-
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- (i) "amnesty"
means the relief contemplated in section 3; (i)
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- (ii) "amnesty
period" means the period from the date of promulgation of this
Act until 31 October 1995 or such later
date as the Minister of
Finance may, before that date, fix by notice in the Gazette; (ii)
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- (iii) "Commissioner"
means the Commissioner for Inland Revenue or any
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officer who performed or
performs similar functions in a former state
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or territory; (iii)
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- (iv) "former state
or territory" means the former Republics of Transkei,
Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei and any
territory declared under
section 26 of the Self-governing Territories Constitution Act, 1971
(Act No. 21 of 1971), to be a
self-governing territory; (vii)
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- (v) "qualifying
person" means any person who on 26 April 1994-
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- (a) was not registered
with the Commissioner for purposes of em- ployees tax, normal tax
and value-added tax, and had not
on or before that date applied to
the Commissioner to be registered in respect of such taxes; or
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- (b) was so registered,
but, in respect of whom the Commissioner, by reason of the fact
that such person's whereabouts were
unknown to the Commissioner on
that date, was unable to enforce the provisions of any law
imposing such taxes; (v)
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- (vi) "qualifying
tax" means normal tax, employees tax, non-resident
shareholders tax, secondary tax on companies,
value-added tax,
donations tax or stamp duty; (iv)
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- (vii) "Sales Tax
Acts" means the Sales Tax Act, 1978 (Act No. 103 of
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1978), read with section
85(2) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act
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No. 89 of 1991), and any law
of a former state or territory in terms of which a sales tax is
leviable. (vi)
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- (2) Any reference in this
Act to a tax or duty contemplated in the definition of "qualifying
tax" in subsection (1)
shall be construed as including a
reference to any similar tax or duty imposed by a law of a former
state or territory.
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- Application for amnesty
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- 2. (1) Any qualifying
person may within the amnesty period apply for amnesty in terms of
this Act.
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- (2) An application for
amnesty shall be made in writing to the Commissioner and shall be
accompanied by an undertaking by the
qualifying person concerned
that such person will comply with such provisions of any law as
relate to such person's liability
for-
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- (a) normal tax in respect
of the last year of assessment ending before 1
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March 1995; and
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- (b) any other qualifying
tax which became payable by such person before the date of such
person's application for amnesty, other
than any tax or duty
contemplated in section 3(a).
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- (3) Any qualifying person
who after 27 April 1994, but before the commence- ment of the
amnesty period furnished the Commissioner
with full information
relating to such person's liability for the taxes contemplated in
subsection (2), shall be deemed to have
applied for amnesty in terms
of this Act.
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- Scope of amnesty
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- 3. Subject to the
provisions of section 4, any qualifying person who has made an
application under section 2 shall-
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- (a) not be liable for the
payment of-
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- (i) any normal tax due
in respect of any year of assessment ending before 1 March 1994;
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- (ii) any value-added tax
in respect of the supply of goods or services or imported services
or on the importation of goods
before 1 March
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1994;
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- (iii) any employees tax
which such person was required to deduct or withhold from
remuneration paid by such person or which
such person became
liable to pay, before 1 March 1995, whether or not such employees
tax was in fact deducted or withheld
by such person;
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- (iv) any stamp duty in
respect of the execution of any instrument before 1 March 1994 or
the registration of transfer of any
marketable security, before
that date;
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- (v) any non-resident
shareholders tax in respect of any dividend declared before 1
March 1994;
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- (vi) any secondary tax
on companies in respect of any dividend declared before 1 March
1994;
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- (vii) any donations tax
in respect of any property disposed of by such qualifying person
under a donation which took effect
before 1 March
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1994; and
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(viii) any
sales tax;
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(b) not be liable for the
payment of any interest due in respect of the late payment of any
qualifying tax referred to in section
2, in so far as such interest
is due in respect of a period ending not later than the last day of
the amnesty period;
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- (c) not be liable for any
penalties or additional tax in respect of the
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non-payment or late payment
of any tax or duty referred to in paragraph
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(a) or (b); and
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- (d) not be subject to
criminal prosecution for offences committed in relation to any tax
or duty referred to in paragraph (a)
or (b).
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- Non-qualifying taxes
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- 4. The amnesty shall not
apply to any tax, duty, interest or penalty- (a) which was paid by
the qualifying person; or
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(b) which is payable or
becomes payable in consequence of any return or
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information furnished by the
qualifying person or any representative of such person to the
Commissioner before 27 April 1994,
or in conse- quence of an
investigation into the affairs of the qualifying person commenced
by the Commissioner before that
date and of which the qualifying
person or any representative of such person was aware.
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- Provisions relating to
sales tax
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- 5. (1) Where any person
(whether a qualifying person or not)-
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- (a) is held liable by the
Commissioner to pay an amount of sales tax and pays such amount
during the amnesty period or within
six months thereafter; or
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(b) is
dissatisfied with the calculation of any amount of sales tax which
such person is held liable by the Commissioner to
pay and such
person makes application within the amnesty period for the matter
to be -
re-examined and thereafter
during, or within nine months after, the amnesty period, pays such
sales tax as is finally determined
by the Commissioner as a result
of such re-examination, no penalty shall, notwithstanding the
provisions of the Sales Tax Acts,
be payable in terms of the
provisions of such Sales Tax Acts: Provided that where such amount
has not been paid in full within
the time allowed in terms of
paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, such penalty shall be
payable in respect of the amount
which has not been paid.
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- (2) Where the Commissioner
is satisfied that any person is unable for any reason to furnish
accurate information in respect of
any matter relating to the
determination of the liability for the payment of any sales tax by
such person, the Commissioner may
for the purpose of bringing such
matter to finality agree with such person as to the amount of sales
tax payable and, notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in the
Sales Tax Acts, raise an assessment on such person giving effect to
such agreement, which assessment
shall not be subject to objection
and appeal.
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- (3) If the amount of sales
tax so agreed upon is paid within nine months
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after the date of such
assessment, no penalty shall be payable: Provided that where such
amount has not been paid in full within
the time allowed, any
penalty in terms of the provisions of the Sales Tax Acts shall be
payable in respect of the amount which
has not been paid.
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- Withdrawal of amnesty
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- 6. An amnesty granted to
any qualifying person shall be withdrawn-
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(a) if such person wilfully
makes any default in complying with the undertaking referred to in
section 2(2); or
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- (b) if, without reasonable
grounds, such person fails to pay any tax or duty contemplated in
section 2 which is due by such person-
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- (i) within a period of one
year after the end of the amnesty period; or
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- (ii) where such person
has agreed to pay such tax or duty within a shorter period, within
such shorter period.
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- Short title
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- 7. This Act shall be
called the Tax Amnesty Act, 1995.
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