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VAT ON E-COMMERCE : CURRENT
POSITION AND WAY FORWARD
PRESENTATION FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN ONLINE
USER GROUP
Ruaan van Eeden
Director - Tax
B.Com (Acc), Higher Diploma in Tax Law, M.Com (SA & International Tax)
VAT ON E-COMMERCE
VAT on e-commerce
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
Topics for discussion
Why the change?
VAT on e-services
Final Regulations
Registration, compliance and enforcement
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
South Africa imposes VAT on a consumption basis
The consumption basis leaves certain gaps in the definition of
“enterprise”
South Africa does not have specific place of supply rules
VAT on imported services / reverse charge mechanism
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
E-commerce difficult to tax as it could be multi-jurisdictional
and ever changing
international trend is to impose VAT where the recipient of the
services resides
foreign suppliers of electronic services required to register as
vendors –
R 50,000 per annum turnover threshold (payment basis)
effective date 1 June 2014
regulation issued by Minister of Finance stating which type of
services must register for e-services VAT
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
PRE 1 JUNE 2014 POSITION FOR EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
exempt supplies by an educational institution
VAT on imported services / reverse charge mechanism
applicable to ‘educational services’
the “enterprise” definition
lack of ‘place of supply’ rules and the need to even out the
playing field
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
POST 1 JUNE 2014 POSITION FOR EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
14% increase in cost of electronically supplied services
unable to claim input tax by virtue of making VAT exempt
supplies under section 12 of the VAT Act
can the educational institution still be held liable for VAT if
foreign supplier refuses to register?
VAT on imported services still remains as backstop
what about ‘educational services’ exemption in section 14?
what about ‘educational authority’ exemption in Regulations?
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
VAT registration and foreign suppliers
Section 7(1)(a) of the VAT Act- levying of VAT in respect of the
supply by any vendor of goods and services in the course or
furtherance of any enterprise carried on by that vendor.
a person or business that is not physically active in South
Africa would not ordinarily be seen as carrying on an
enterprise
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
The Taxation Laws Amendment Act, No 31 of 2013 introduced
amendments to the VAT Act that introduced a specific ‘place of
supply’ rule in respect of electronic services.
Specifically, the definition of an 'enterprise' has been amended
to include, the supply of electronic services, by a person or
business outside of South Africa to a recipient in South Africa
(or where payment for the services comes from a South
African bank).
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
The foreign supplier of electronic services will become liable to
register as a vendor at the end of any month where the value
of taxable supplies by that person has exceeded R 50 000.
Accounting for VAT will be on a payments basis and
compulsory through e-filing.
Foreign suppliers only required to issue abriged tax invoices.
No refunds to be paid – any overpayments will be set-off
against future liabilities
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
Final Regulations
On 28 March 2014 National Treasury published the Government
Gazette No 37489, Notice R221 (the "Regulations") which
narrowed the definition of electronic services.
Under the Regulations, electronic services are divided into
specific categories educational services;
games and games of chance;
internet-based auction service;
miscellaneous services; and
subscription services.
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
Final Regulations
Educational services include –
Distance teaching programmes;
Educational webcasts;
Internet based courses;
Internet based education programmes; or
Webinars
But only if the supplier of the service is NOT regulated by an
‘educational authority’ in the export country
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
Final Regulations
Subscription services include –
Blogs, journals, magazines, newspapers;
Games;
Internet based auction services;
Periodicals, publications;
Social networking service;
Webcast;
Webinar;
Website;
Web application;
Web series.
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VAT ON E-COMMERCE
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
SERVER
WEBSITE
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
OFFSHORE
SA
SA
UNIVERSITY
Contractual Arrangement
Invoicing and payment
CLOUD
SERVER
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QUESTIONS?