Pastel Registration Contact Details

SARS requires business records to be kept for five years, and the obligation is yours whether or not you use accounting software. A shoebox of slips is legal; an empty shoebox is not, and reconstructing a year of records after a verification request is far more expensive than keeping them.

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What a small business should keep

The habits matter more than the system.

• Separate business and personal bank accounts. Mixing them is the single biggest cause of unusable records.
• Keep every invoice, receipt, bank statement and contract, and back up digital records off the premises.
• A tax invoice must contain specific details to be valid for VAT purposes. Check yours meets them before you rely on them.
• Register for VAT once turnover passes the compulsory threshold; confirm the current figure with SARS rather than an old article.

Deadlines and disputes

Penalties for late returns accrue monthly, per outstanding return, whether or not tax is owed. Filing a nil return on time costs nothing; not filing does.

An assessment you disagree with is challenged through the formal objection process and there is a deadline; phoning to complain is not an objection. The Office of the Tax Ombud handles service complaints free once that process is exhausted. SARS does not ask for banking details or passwords by email or SMS. Verified 26 August 2026.