Public Officer Appointment (SARS)

If you would like any assistance with appointing a public officer at SARS, please use the following link:

https://www.swiftreg.co.za/Swiftreg/P...

We at SwiftReg look forward to assisting you. We have a dedicated call center 021-595 44 33 (available during business hours) alternative please browser our website on https://www.swiftreg.co.za/index.aspx for more services.

And now for the video script... :)

Since all companies are legal entities (also known as legal persons) with the same rights, responsibilities and privilege as us natural persons; this means that companies can own assets, hire and fire people, sue and be sued just like we can. The only difference is that a company is effectively just a piece of paper and therefore needs a human to represent it. This person is called the public officer.

The South African Tax Administration Act requires that every company which conducts business in South Africa must be represented by a public officer when dealing with SARS. The public officer must be appointed within one month of the from the date the company starts trading and failing to do so will result in administrative penalties for that company.

At SwiftReg, we usually appoint one of the directors of the company as the public officer, but this does not have to be the case as. The Act states that any senior official of the company may be appointed as long as they reside in South Africa during the term of appointment. Furthermore it is not a requirement for the public officer to be a South African citizen which allows for foreigners to be appointed.

A public officer appointment can be done in person at a SARS branch or online with the help of a tax practitioner. At the beginning of May 2021, SARS froze the processing of all new or renewing tax products for companies which do not have public officers appointed. These services can only recommence once the appointment of the public officer is complete.

So what to do you need to register? SARS requires the company documents and tax number; as well as the Public officer’s name, tax number and contact details. Proof of address, a signed letter of appointment and the acceptance letter as well as the latest company bank statement must all be uploaded on the e-filing portal.

Once this is complete the process should take 24 hours to be verified.

I hope this was helpful so as always remember WE ARE HERE TO HELP