SARS inquisition on the cards

SARS has turned its attention to the
travel industry, bringing with it the
threat of serious consequences for
travel agencies.
The revenue service is looking
into aspects of VAT treatment by
travel agencies, says Colin Mitchley,
financial director of BidTravel. He
says SARS is questioning the way
the industry has interpreted the VAT
Act since it was first implemented.
The implication is that the trade may
have been underpaying VAT, which
would have financial consequences
for all agencies across the industry.
At least four agencies have been
contacted by SARS so far and the
line of questioning seems to be
similar for all four. Colin says it is
still hoped that travel agents will
avoid coming under scrutiny as it
would be news to everyone in the
industry that there was any fault with
the current treatment of VAT.
At the time of publishing, SARS
was unable to respond to questions
from TNW about what exactly it was
investigating. Meanwhile, Asata says
it takes the matter very seriously
and is looking into it.