NEWS

Although Belgium Government has justified their reasons for introduction of so called black box devices (fiscal data module) to prevent VAT cheaters who manipulate tax liability by adjusting or deleting their journal records, there is a resistance by business associations in Horeca sector who have triggered a request to delay security device implementation.

An audit into 40 private companies throughout South Africa has revealed more than R80 million worth of tax fraud‚ the SA Revenue Service said on Thursday.

SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane on Thursday revealed a new strategy to combat non-compliance companies in “high-risk sectors”.

Moyane said that the “cash and carry industry” was identified as one of the high risk sectors SARS aimed to focus on.

“Over the last six months SARS’ risk processes have selected more than 40 companies operating in this space for audit. To date‚ full audits have been conducted on a number of these companies‚ and non-compliance to the value of R80 million discovered. They owe taxes ranging from R500 000 to R20 million‚” he said.

Moyane said that the money included withholding of VAT payments from cash sales‚ illegal repatriation of funds to global tax havens and fraudulent vat refund claims.

Merchants in France will use an anti-fraud retail system soon.

Pharmacies, restaurants, bakeries, florists, hairdressers, supermarkets … These professions are under the tax administration radar because they are part of the majority group that cheat on VAT. The reason is simple: their customers can pay in cash for their product/service. To fight against this tax authority in France will use new instrument. As of 1 January 2018, the VAT payers must use only secure and certified POS software and cash registers. This measure was adopted last month in the National Assembly within the framework of the first reading of the Finance law for the year 2016.

Cash-based businesses got the first taste of certified cash registers as a one-month trial began on Tuesday (December 2nd) ahead of the mandatory nation-wide rollout as of 2016.

The Financial Administration said 166 users issued 3,000 receipts with the new system by the afternoon, a fraction of the millions that will be issued on a daily basis once the system is in place.

The new system, an attempt to thwart tax evasion, connects cash registers directly with the revenue service’s central IT system, where the receipts are confirmed before they are printed out.