The public officer serves as the body corporate’s authorised representative with SARS, helping to coordinate its tax administration alongside the trustees, accountant and tax practitioner.
WHY DOES CONTINUITY MATTER?
Problems can arise when the registered representative resigns, becomes unavailable or remains linked to the body corporate after leaving office.
This may delay:
- Access to the SARS profile
- Submission of tax returns
- Receipt of correspondence
- Updates to registered details
- Resolution of compliance matters
Trustees should therefore confirm who is registered and ensure that the details remain current.
WHO SHOULD BE APPOINTED?
The body corporate should appoint a suitable person who understands the responsibility and has authority to act on its behalf.
Depending on the circumstances and SARS requirements, this may be a trustee, administrator, accounting professional or another appropriately authorised person. The appointment should be properly recorded, and access to the body corporate’s tax information should remain controlled.
DOES A BODY CORPORATE STILL NEED A TAX PRACTITIONER?
A public officer and a tax practitioner perform different roles.
The public officer represents the body corporate, while a registered tax practitioner may prepare returns, provide tax advice and deal with technical tax matters under an appropriate mandate.
The public officer should ensure that required information reaches the appointed accounting or tax professional and that outstanding matters are reported to the trustees.
KEEP THE APPOINTMENT CURRENT
Trustees should periodically verify:
- Who is registered with SARS
- Whether the person is still available and authorised
- Whether contact details are correct
- Whether tax returns are up to date
- Whether any SARS correspondence requires attention
SARS allows a registered representative to be registered or updated through eFiling or its online query system.
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