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Diesel dispute

24 Mar 2016

Misleading instructions. Unreasonable tax inspectors. No wonder farmers struggle to claim diesel rebates. As all farmers know, a diesel fuel rebate is allowable in terms of the Customs and Excise Act. Yet many farmers have recently been hit with reversals or clawbacks of the rebate with accompanying penalties and interest.

©budabar via 123RF

SARS auditors are focusing on the logbooks kept by farmers and rebates are being disallowed because of an insistence on slavish adherence to logbook ‘rules’.

Up until recently, 20% of a rebate could be disallowed if record-keeping was not up to standard. In other words, some discretion was allowed, as per Part 3, Note 6(h)(vii), to Schedule 6 of the Customs and Excise Act. Now, however, the logbook is regarded as the sole document for ascertaining the diesel rebate. The question is: does the Commissioner still have the discretion to award the rebate in the face of alleged non-compliance?

Read the full story on Farmer’s Weekly.

Source: Farmer's Weekly

Farmer’s Weekly has a long and proud history of serving South Africa’s agricultural industry. Throughout the years, Farmer’s Weekly has been a clarion for South Africa’s farming community and, the magazine remains fully committed to its original undertaking – the advancement of the interests of farmers and their industry.

Go to: www.farmersweekly.co.za