Johannesburg - South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter is advising consumers to carefully examine their invoices. Companies are working to revert their systems to the 15% VAT rate by May 1st. This follows a court decision that suspended a planned VAT increase.
The Treasury had intended to raise the VAT rate by 0.5 percentage points. However, the Western Cape High Court intervened, suspending the proposed hike pending new legislation. The VAT rate, initially set to increase to 15.5% on May 1st, will now remain at 15%.