Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962)

Schedules

Fourth Schedule : Amounts to be Deducted or Withheld by Employers and Provisional Payments in respect of Normal Tax

Part IV : General

28. 28A. 29. Employees' tax and provisional tax to be set off against tax liability
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[Heading substituted by section 53(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1983 (Act No. 94 of 1983)]

 

28.

(1)There shall be set off against the liability of the taxpayer in respect of any taxes (as defined in subparagraph (8)) due by the taxpayer, the amounts of employees' tax deducted or withheld by the taxpayers employer during any year of assessment for which the taxpayer's liability for normal tax has been assessed by the Commissioner and the amounts of provisional tax paid by the taxpayer in respect of any such year, and if—
(a)the sum of the said amounts of employees' tax and provisional tax exceeds the amount of the taxpayer's total liability for the said taxes, the excess amount shall be refunded to the taxpayer;
(b)the taxpayer's total liability for the aforesaid taxes exceeds the sum of the said amounts of employees' tax and provisional tax, the amount of the excess shall be payable by the taxpayer to the Commissioner.

[Paragraph 28(1) of the Fourth Schedule substituted by section 52 of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2019  (Act No. 34 of 2019, GG 42951, dated 15 January 2020]

 

(1)bis        [Paragraph 28(1)bis  of the Fourth Schedule deleted by section 30(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1986 (Act No. 65 of 1986)]

 

(2)The burden of proof that any amount of employees' tax has been deducted or withheld by his employer' shall be upon the taxpayer and any employees' tax certificate shall prima facie evidence that the amount of employees' tax reflected therein has been deducted by the employer.

 

(3)If the Commissioner is satisfied that the amount or any portion of the amount of employees tax shown in any employees' tax certificate has not been deducted or withheld by the employer and the amount of employees' tax shown in such tax certificate has been applied as provided in subparagraph (1), the employer and the employee shall be jointly and severally liable to pay to the Commissioner the amount which should not have been so applied and such amount shall be recoverable under this Act as if it were a tax.

 

(4)An employer who has under subparagraph (3) paid to the Commissioner an amount which has but should not have been applied under the provisions of subparagraph (1), may, if the amount was shown or included in the certificate because of a bona fide error, recover the amount so paid from the employee concerned, and in that case the provisions of subparagraph (3) of paragraph 5 shall mutatis mutandis apply.

 

(5)No employees' tax certificate shall be issued by the employer in respect of any amount recovered by him from the employee in terms of subparagraph (4) nor shall any such amount be included in any return rendered in terms of subparagraph (3) of paragraph 14.

 

(6)If the Commissioner is satisfied that the employee to whom an employees' tax certificate refers was directly or indirectly responsible for an incorrect amount being shown on such certificate he may; absolve the employer from the liability imposed upon him by subparagraph (3), and in that case the employee shall be solely liable under that subparagraph.

 

(7)[Paragraph 28(7) of the Fourth Schedule deleted by section 14 of Act No. 16 of 2016]

 

(8)For the purposes of this paragraph, "taxes" means the normal tax levied under this Act.

[Paragraph 28(8) of the Fourth Schedule substituted by section 49 of the Revenue Laws Amendment Act (Act No. 32 of 2004)]

 

28A.Payments by way of employees' tax and provisional tax must, for the purposes of this Act and subject to the provisions of paragraph 28, be regarded as having been made in respect of the taxpayers liability for tax whether or not the liability has been ascertained or determined at the date of any payment.

[Paragraph 28A of the Fourth Schedule inserted by section 271, read with paragraph 96 of Schedule 1, of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (Act No. 28 of 2011)]

 

29.No refund of any amount of employees' tax or provisional tax shall be made to the taxpayer concerned otherwise than as provided in paragraph 28 or in such circumstances as may be determined by the Commissioner in any deduction tables prescribed by him or her under paragraph 9.

[Paragraph 29 of the Fourth Schedule substituted by section 18(1) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 23 of 2015)]