South Africa Struggles to Enforce VAT Rules on Foreign Companies

The South African Revenue Service is facing challenges signing up non-resident businesses to its VAT system for e-commerce, an official said Wednesday.

Foreign companies are required to register for the value added tax in South Africa on the trade of digital goods and services in the country. But South Africa Revenue Service’s Executive of Revenue Planning Lesley O’Connell said not as many companies as expected are signing up through voluntary compliance. She spoke at the African Tax Administration Forum’s annual meeting.

• “We are really struggling to be able to enforce it. We found it didn’t actually work,” O’Connell said ...