VAT on commission only?

[5seasons]

I own a VAT registered entertainment agency, operating on a commission basis (margin is usually 20%). We invoice our clients for the performers' fees plus our commission, and then pay the performers upon receipt of payment from our client. Many of the performers whom we would pay out on a regular basis, are not registered for VAT; but as the full payment (performers' fee plus commission) comes through our account, we are charging VAT on the full amount. A practical example:

Performer charges R1250 (no VAT)
Our commission is R250
We invoice client R1500 plus VAT of R210 (i.e. R1710)
We pay performer's R1250 out to him immediately
We pay SARS the VAT of R210

My question is whether it is possible to charge VAT only on the commission portion of the amount? In the above example, it would be 14% on R250, i.e. instead of charging R210 VAT, the total VAT on the invoice would be R35 (14% of R250).

 

[brilliantt]

It would be wrong to do it that way, because the client ends up not paying VAT on the performance portion. We must all pay vat for any value that we add. Besides, if the client is registered for VAT, he can still claim it back from SARS.