Every business that is liable for tax under the Income Tax Act, 1962 is required to register with SARS as a taxpayer within 21 days of becoming liable.  This registration can be done once for all different tax types (VAT, PAYE etc) using the client information section link on the SARS website.

If a business has been running and not paying tax it will have to register as a taxpayer as soon as possible. SARS does not only impose penalties for late registration and late submission of tax returns it also imposes penalties for late registration where the company should have registered as a taxpayer. The more the company delays in registering for tax and submitting returns the bigger the liability might just get. In the case that the business has been making losses, nil returns will be submitted for the years where no tax returns were done. Penalties and interest may be charged by SARS for the years where tax is payable to SARS.

In the event that the company finally registers as a taxpayer and all outstanding returns are submitted with the result being amounts due to SARS including penalties and interest and the taxpayer cannot settle the amounts at one go, payment arrangements can be made with SARS.

If your business finds itself in a situation where registration as a taxpayer was not done in time, the best will be to seek professional advice.  Call SARS and speak to a consultant who will gladly assist or you can walk into any SARS branch closest to you or speak to your accountant or tax practitioner. They will be able to assist with the registration and submission of all outstanding tax returns.