Implications of using another companies Vat number

[Dave A]

Dave I don''t think he even thought about it.He has no Idea how Vat or accounting works.He just focuses on doing the physical work.

Angazi and Weet Nie can be very, very expensive employees.

They also tend to cover up for wilful mischief too
(and the fact that the sole client views VAT registration as critical doesn't help dissipate my cynicism much either.)

With that out of the way - the big question is once in the cart, how can you get out of it?



You know, SARS still has the voluntary disclosure program running - no penalties and no interest if you come clean (and pay up the actual tax owed to SARS). Approaching SARS might well be the way to go for a fairly clean exit from a messy situation.

[Greig Whitton]

You know, SARS still has the voluntary disclosure program running - no penalties and no interest if you come clean (and pay up the actual tax owed to SARS). Approaching SARS might well be the way to go for a fairly clean exit from a messy situation.

Excellent advice and almost certainly the way to go. It's going to look suspicious ("I didn't know that I couldn't use someone else's VAT number ... honest!") but I don't see any other viable alternative. With a bit of luck, penalties may be waived or (at the very least) reduced (especially if the VAT portion is relatively negligible).

Retaining the client may be the trickier challenge. I guess you have to choose between coming clean and trying to build a relationship on trust (and risk losing the client) or keeping quiet about the whole thing and settling for a relationship that will always be on thin ice (and hoping they never find out).