Author: Karen Miller

When taxpayers dispute an assessment, the expectation is straightforward: either the taxpayer wins and the assessment is reduced, or the South African Revenue Services (SARS) wins and the assessment remains unchanged. However, recent cases raise a surprising question – could the Tax Court ever order SARS to increase an assessment? This possibility has sparked debate following recent judgments and SARS’s evolving litigation tactics. The legal framework The Tax Court may order SARS to “alter” an assessment. Does this permit only downward adjustments? The rules suggest that it does. The Tax Court may rule only on the issues contained in SARS’s…