All companies which are tax resident in the Republic of South Africa (i.e. incorporated under the laws of, or which are effectively managed in, the Republic), and which derive income from within or outside the Republic, are subject to income tax in the Republic. Non-resident companies which operate through a branch or which have a permanent establishment within the Republic are subject to income tax on all income from a source within the Republic. This is commonly referred to as corporate income tax (CIT). CIT forms part of the tax revenue generated within the Republic, which is used by the state in reaching its economic and developmental goals. SARS is the collection agency of the Republic, and one of its mandates is to assess and collect CIT from companies by making use of the Income Tax Return for Companies (ITR14) and supporting documents. This instrument (ITR14 return) should be completed and submitted by companies in order to declare their full income tax responsibility to SARS. All financial transactions entered into during a given year of assessment should be included in the declaration. The information declared in this instrument serves as the basis for determining the CIT obligation of the company.

Submitting the ITR14 Return

An ITR14 can be submitted via the following channels:

• Online via eFiling
• At the nearest SARS branch.

Note: The SARS agent in the branch will not assist with the interpretation of the financial statements or other information and will only capture the information completed by the Company Representative/Public Officer. SARS recommends that you consult a registered tax practitioner of your choice should you require assistance with interpretation of the financial statements or are unable to complete the ITR14 using the guide and the example of the ITR14 on the SARS website.

If the financial information has not been prepared for capturing or the required supporting documents (relevant material) is not available, the SARS agent will not be able to finalise the capturing. In this instance, all captured information will be saved on the system, but the ITR14 will not be submitted. The Company Representative/Public Officer will have to re-visit the SARS branch with the outstanding information and/or supporting documents (relevant material) within 21 calendar days in order to finalise the submission.

As part of the Go-Green initiative to decrease the use of paper, agents at the SARS branch no longer print a copy of the ITR14 return submitted for the taxpayer. A copy of ITR14 will only be printed when the signature pad is not working and a manual signature of the captured data is required for back scanning. This will be the only exception.

Source: SARS