SARS Tax Practitioner Appointment and Verification
There are various types of tax preparers, practitioners, tax consultants, tax advisors, tax specialists, however not all have the professional credentials to do so.
You expect your practitioner to be skilled in tax preparation and to accurately file your TAX returns. You trust your practitioner with all your personal details, they know about your marriage, children and tax registration details – essentially the details of your financial life. You entrust the practitioner to assist you with the best tax advisory and consulting service.
Most tax practitioners provide outstanding and professional tax services. However, every year, there are taxpayers that suffer financially because they choose the wrong tax preparer or tax practitioner, who is not qualified or registered to provide those services. A Registered Tax Practitioner is one who belongs to an RCB otherwise known as a Recognised Controlling Body.
Practitioners offering a tax service to clients are also required to be in Good Standing with their Recognised Controlling Body.
Tax Practitioners registered with a recognised controlling body are also required to complete CPD hours in order to maintain their registration as practitioners.
It is this CPD that continually keeps the practitioner up to date with the latest developments on the tax landscape. Furthermore, the controlling body holds the tax practitioner to a code of conduct and also acts in the interest of the larger community by holding the tax practitioner to account.
How can you check a tax practitioner’s credentials?
The most important check to perform is to see whether your tax practitioner has a tax practitioner number. The tax practitioner number starts with PR. A registered tax practitioner won’t have a problem with supplying their PR number so you can do your due diligence checks.
Once you have the tax practitioner’s PR number you can go to SARS’ website and confirm whether the tax practitioner is licensed.
The link to verify your tax practitioner: Tax Practitioner Registration Status (sarsefiling.co.za)
What if you have a complaint about a tax practitioner?
SARS is taking steps to align Tax Practitioners with the law that governs anyone advising or assisting taxpayers with tax matters. This law states that Tax Practitioners should be registered with SARS and with a Recognised Controlling Body (RCB).
You can report a Tax Practitioner when:
- They are not registered as a practitioner, yet operates as a Tax Practitioner
- Their conduct is unprofessional
- Their conduct is unlawful
- They do not act in the taxpayer’s interest, given that the taxpayer’s interest is reasonable and within the law.
To report a Tax Practitioner, you can complete the RUC001 form and email this to SARS.
What are the next steps?
After you have completed the form, the following steps will take place:
- SARS will investigate the complaint. During this process, the complainant may be contacted for additional information and proof of the allegation against a Tax Practitioner.
- SARS will issue a letter of intention to the taxpayer to disclose the tax information of the taxpayer that is relevant to the complaint – to the relevant controlling body (where applicable) – and a letter to the Tax Practitioner informing him/her that SARS intends to complain to his/her RCB.
- The taxpayer and Tax Practitioner then have 21 business days to object.
- If no objection is received or SARS is not convinced by the grounds of the objection, SARS will log a complaint against the practitioner with his/her controlling body.
- The Controlling body will further investigate the matter in accordance with their processes, e.g. arrange a hearing.
- The Controlling body will inform SARS of their decision on the matter, e.g. disciplinary action against the practitioner, deregister the practitioner, or no further action, etc.
- If SARS is not satisfied with the outcome, the case can be escalated to the Ministry of Finance.
Frequently asked questions
Is a tax practitioner and tax representative the same thing?
A practitioner is someone skilled in the field of tax and provides a service. A representative is someone assuming the responsibility for the entity's tax compliance. These two roles are meant to be split as it is incorrect to assume practitioners will take on an entity's compliance responsibilities.
How do I perform a verification of a tax practitioner?
What you will need is the tax practitioners PR number and this can be entered into the SARS website to verify the practitioner. The link to SARS Verification page is Tax Practitioner Registration Status (sarsefiling.co.za)
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