SARS has backdated your client's VAT registration and the VAT bill looks frightening. It does not have to be. Invoices issued before the registration date can still support an input tax claim. See the four conditions SARS applies, and how to dispute the date under section 23(4)(b) of the VAT Act.

Your VAT or PAYE application did not fail because the process is broken. It failed because of four mistakes SARS sees on almost every rejected application. At a recent stakeholder meeting, SARS named them out loud. Here is what they said, and what to fix before your next submission.

From 1 April 2026, the VAT threshold increases to R2.3 million. Many small businesses will immediately qualify to deregister. But what looks like a simple compliance decision can quickly become an expensive mistake. When a vendor deregisters, SARS treats certain assets as if they were sold, which means output VAT may suddenly become payable. Before recommending deregistration, accountants should understand the hidden traps.