Dodgy Accountants

[greggpb]

I have had the same accountants for the last 4 years.... and have been depeding on them to sort out my business(owner) and personal Tax.

In my personal capacity SARS had jsut approached me with a 110k Fine for taxes? what is my recouse with the accountants who should have been keeping me up to date.... they seem to leave everything till the last minute then miss deadlines and get me fines

 

[blunomore]

If it was their mistake that landed you the fine, you can claim damages from them for negligence. They are normallly insured for such claims. Same with lawyers and doctors.

 

[greggpb]

basically they my business book's were late so they applied for an extension.. but didn't apply for an extension for my personal books

 

[blunomore]

I suppose that can be construed as being negligent. Why did you need an extension? Was it your 'fault'?

Let's also hear what other posters say.

 

[greggpb]

They hadn't sorted out the buiness books and the buinsess had to issue me a irp before the personal tax could be paid..

 

[blunomore]

Sounds like they had to apply for the extension and forgot to do so, as you said.

 

[Borrels]

Maybe get in touch with SAICA - SA Institute for Chartered Accountants. I'm sure they must have some guidelines or something that stipulate under what circumstances you can hold your accountant accountable

 

[xrapidx]

greggpb - wtf do you earn to be fined 110k - I earn a decent amount and only got wacked R11k - btw, late filling is only a couple of R100 penalty, did they tell you what the fine is for?

 

[greggpb]

greggpb - wtf do you earn to be fined 110k - I earn a decent amount and only got wacked R11k - btw, late filling is only a couple of R100 penalty, did they tell you what the fine is for?

Fine was for late payment... outstanding bill was about 500k + 110k fine

 

[xrapidx]

OUCH! See if they can break down the fine? into details? How late is it?

 

[Bernie]

You signed your tax return, your are fully liable to SARS for the money. SARS dont care who fills in your forms. You would however have a case against the accountants for being negligent and causing you to be indebted to SARS. You would have to show that if the accountants had done everything correctly you would not have owed SARS the money. My 2c.

 

[Londo]

How do you find a good accountant? My guy is is as slow as molasses in getting my returns in. He saves me some bucks, fersure. But I pay interest to the Receiver. I want to get a new accountant. What should I ask/look for?

 

[greggpb]

You signed your tax return, your are fully liable to SARS for the money. SARS dont care who fills in your forms. You would however have a case against the accountants for being negligent and causing you to be indebted to SARS. You would have to show that if the accountants had done everything correctly you would not have owed SARS the money. My 2c.

I don't remember signing a single tax return

 

[xrapidx]

I don't remember signing a single tax return

That could be the problem

 

[zeb]

I don't remember signing a single tax return

You don't have to, they represent you.

As for the fine, SARS will more often than not slice it to a fraction of the amount as long as you approach them and offer to settle the outstanding fees.

 

[greggpb]

OUCH! See if they can break down the fine? into details? How late is it?

This is what i have asked for..

 

[xrapidx]

This is what i have asked for..

If you don't have any joy from them - email [email protected] (SARS monitoring office) with your reference numbers, they take about a week to get the mail, put a read receipt on it, and then a day or two to respond.