With the 2020 tax filing season in full swing, many taxpayers will likely engage in dispute proceedings as SARS issues their income tax assessments. This will particularly be the case where errors are contained on the so-called “auto-assessments” (which in itself is a misnomer). But how should the dispute process begin? When an assessment is issued by SARS, they (usually) provide a short description of the reason for the assessment. Importantly, the SARS official is often restricted in what he/she can include on such an assessment as a reason (such as a selection from a “drop-down” list). For example, for additional VAT assessments (VAT217), taxpayers often find the following: “Burden of […]