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ENSafrica | May 2014

Many taxpayers are generally aware that there is a prescription provision contained in our tax law. However it is not always understood that the prescription provisions apply only if certain statutory requirements are met. In this regard it is not uncommon for SARS to assess taxpayers beyond the prescription period of three years ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

In a surprise announcement on 21 March 2014, the Zambian government with immediate effect abolished exchange control regulations introduced in 2012 and 2013 in an attempt to halt the rapid devaluation of the Kwacha. When the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) came to power in Zambia in 1991, the new government’s priorities were the restoration of economic future growth and employment through liberalising the economy and allowing market forces a greater role ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

On 21 February 2014 the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, (‘the Convention’) as amended, by the provisions of the Protocol amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters which entered into force on 1 June 2011 was published in the Government Gazette. The Convention was approved by Parliament in terms of section 231 of the Constitution and  the  Convention took effect on 1 March 2014 in South Africa ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

On 14 February 2014 the South African Department of Trade & Industry (DTI)  gave notice of its intention to prohibit the use of a large number of European food and drinks names in terms of  section 15 of the Merchandise Marks Act (MMA)  - confusingly the notice also makes reference to section 13 of the MMA, a section that no longer exists ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

On 24 March 2014, the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) issued its long-awaited decision in The Competition Commission and South African Breweries and Others. The original complaint against South African Breweries (“SAB”) and its Appointed Distributors” (“ADs") was lodged with the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) nearly ten years ago, referred to the Tribunal nearly seven years ago, and has been the subject of various interlocutory disputes ever since ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

‘Respondent does not believe any consumer could reasonably believe the best route to finding Complainant’s goods on the internet is by entering www.fuckcalvinklein.com into a web browser ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

There was a fascinating article on the late Wally Olins (brand guru and co-founder of the firm Wolff Olins) in The Economist recently. The piece brings home just how much Olins’s thinking has shaped trade mark law and practice over recent years. Here are just a few examples:   ‘G.K. Chesterton got it half right: when people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing. They believe in brands ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

Most employers are aware that a travel allowance may be granted to an employee where it is anticipated that the employee will be required to undertake business travel by virtue of the duties of his/her employment and that a travel allowance should not be merely used as a mechanism to reduce an employee’s employees’ tax (“PAYE”) liability ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

VAT vendors who make taxable supplies of goods or services are obliged to issue tax invoices to the recipients of such supplies within 21 days of having made such a supply.   A valid tax invoice is of utmost importance because without such a document a vendor, being the recipient of a supply, is not entitled to claim any input tax deductions in respect of goods or services acquired in the course or furtherance of making taxable supplies ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

It has a long been a principle of company law that the debts of a company are not the debts of its shareholders.  It may be a surprise to some that this principle does not apply to certain tax debts thanks to section 181 of the Tax Administration Act No.28 of 2011 (“section 181”). This section allows shareholders to be held jointly or individually liable for the tax debts of their company. At first glance it seems unfair to punish those who do not manage the day-to-day running of a company ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

Introduction This is the first in a series of articles on venture capital companies, a tax-favoured investment vehicle regulated by section 12J of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (“ITA 1962”). The venture capital company (“VCC”) scheme, introduced in 2009, is a tax-based scheme designed to encourage individual and corporate investors to invest in a range of smaller, higher-risk trading companies by investing through the VCCs ...

ENSafrica | May 2014

The current transfer pricing provisions contained in section 31 of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 came into effect on 1 April 2012 and are applicable for years of assessment commencing on or after that date ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

Section 3(e)(i) of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (the Act) provides that agricultural land shall not be sold or advertised unless the Minister has consented to it in writing. There are currently conflicting judgements as to whether this provision applies to an option to purchase agricultural land ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

There was an interesting article in a publication called TBO (Trademarks and Brands Online) entitled Fluid Trademarks: Keeping Them Watertight. As the title suggests, it deals with fluid trade marks. But what exactly are they? ‘Fluid trade marks’ isn’t some obscure way of describing trade marks that are used for beverages. The term rather refers to trade marks that vary in use.  The article says that ‘fluid trademarks are those presented in an unconventional way.. ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

The relationship between parody and IP rights comes up quite often. Just recently the Advocate General of Europe’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), handed down his opinion in the case of Deckmyn, a case which involves the allegedly parodic use by a Belgian political party of a comic in which there is copyright ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe became a member of ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property Organization) with effect from 19 May 2014, with the Harare Protocol entering into force on 19 August 2014.  This brings the number of ARIPO Member States to 19 and the number of states party to the Harare Protocol to 18 ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

Many South African businesses are finding it necessary to become acquainted with Chinese trade mark law and practice. One reason for this is that China is a market that many SA companies want to access. This requires them to make sure that they can use their trade marks in China without infringing the rights of other companies. In other words, they need to do trade mark searching ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

Copyright protects a wide range of works. The first of the categories listed in the South African Copyright Act (“the Act”) is ‘literary works’. It is an unhelpful monitor, because literary merit does not come into it at all – the definition in the Act in fact uses the phrase ‘irrespective of literary quality’. The Act goes on to make it clear that works such as reports, tables and compilations are categorised under the term ‘literary works’ ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

A recent US Supreme Court decision highlights a defence that’s raised from time to time in intellectual property (IP) matters, but rarely succeeds. It’s the defence of delay, something that’s referred to by various names, including ‘acquiescence’, ‘estoppel’ and ‘laches’ ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

Members of the Zimbabwe ruling party’s decision making body told Bloomberg in April 2014 that Zimbabwe is considering the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar as it struggles to meet its monthly wage bill. In May Zimbabwe’s Treasury postponed the pay dates for its 230 000 public workers the second time in two consecutive months, after having awarded civil servants a 23% increase in April to honour a 2013 election promise made by President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu PF ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

Prior to the enactment of the Tax Administration Act No ...

ENSafrica | June 2014

South Africa may be missing out on opportunities to attract well known and internationally reputable South Korean engineering and construction companies such as GS E&C, Daewoo, Samsung, and Kumho E&C ...

ENSafrica | July 2014

As a result of the global financial crisis, the necessity for growth has become paramount and fiscal consolidation non-negotiable. Private sector growth is fundamental for economic recovery and to reduce deficits ...

ENSafrica | July 2014

In terms of the current Tax Court rules published under the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962, where the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) did not comply with the prescribed time frames in respect of dispute resolution, practically, there was little that a taxpayer could do. This could change in terms of the proposed new Tax Court rules expected to come into force later this year ...

ENSafrica | July 2014

The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) introduced a new streamlined process primarily geared towards the single registration of a taxpayer across applicable tax types. This system was implemented on 12 May 2014. Prior to this system, processes at SARS required that a taxpayer be registered at a SARS branch on several interfaces relating to each tax type ...

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