As per SAICA (The South Africa Institute of Chartered Accountants), the following defines the term:

“A public officer is the representative taxpayer for a company, and therefore that person will serve as the face of the company for tax purposes. All actions carried out in his capacity as a public officer are deemed to have been done by the company”

Since the e-Filing changes implemented in 2021, all legal entities need to have a South African resident, who is a natural person, appointed as public officer. This makes it very difficult to transfer clients’ e-Filing profiles when you change tax practitioner and apply for additional tax products, such as VAT. The South African appointed public officer does not have to be a director, they can only be appointed as the representative. This is in cases where the entity is an offshore branch, registered in South Africa or the only director is a non-resident.

Information needed to update the details of an entity and appoint a public officer:

• Entity registration documents.
• Proof of address for the entity – not older than three months.
• Latest bank statement for the entity.
• Resolution signed by all directors/members/trustees to appoint the public officer/main trustee.
• Certified copies of the identity document/passports for all directors/members/trustees – Certification not older than three months.
• Proof of address for all directors/members/trustees – not older than three months.
• Proof of address for the public officer, if only appointed as a representative – not older than three months.
• Signed special power of attorney to appoint the tax practitioner.
• Selfie of public officer holding their Identity card or photo page of their green Identity book with a note that says: “Update my details’

• Online service at www.sars.gov.za
• Making an e-Booking with SARS
• Visiting a SARS branch

A note to remember that passports are only valid for 10 years. The renewed passport will usually have a new passport number. This also needs to be updated, first with the registration authority, i.e., CIPC or the Master of the High Court. After this update, SARS’ registered details needs to be updated using the channels mentioned above.

It is therefore important to always keep your records up to date. Information that sometimes changes and needs to be updated could include the following:

• Address
• Banking details
• Surname
• Passport number
• Company registration number – This is in cases where a closed corporation was converted to a company
• Newly appointed directors/members/trustees
• Directors/members/trustees and representatives that no longer work for the entity.