Companies and small businesses in South Africa and around the world have been forced to adapt to the ever-changing operating environment around Covid-19, and restrictions in place to slow down the spread of the virus.
In a bid to help local companies adjust to this new reality, and be fit for purpose post-Covid-19, The Beancounter will be sending a weekly email around initiatives available to help businesses, and important information they should be aware of in the months ahead.
Here is what small businesses should take note of this week:
VAT Relief during the lockdown period
At this stage, SARS has granted no VAT payment relief due to the lockdown and Covid-19. Payment arrangements and other deferral methods for services unable to be rendered are, however, available to businesses with cash flow constraints caused by the pandemic. VAT vendors who are typically in a net refund situation can also fast track their refunds by applying for monthly VAT submissions to be made available to their business.
The Beancounter clients: Please contact your account manager for more information or if you need to defer any SARS payment or need to apply for monthly VAT submissions.
Response from the SMME Relief Fund
We are fully aware of the general frustration with regards to the lack of feedback from the SMME relief fund after submissions were made. We have worked tirelessly on our applications and are doing everything in our power to get more information on the submission turnaround times. As soon as we have more details, we will inform you.
PAYE deferrals
As previously mentioned in our email newsletters, businesses with a turnover of up to R100 million are entitled to a 35% payment deferral for PAYE payments from 1 April 2020 to 31 July 2020. Please, however, be aware that if you make use of this option for a business’ PAYE returns, your repayment hereof will be equal to six monthly instalments from 1 August 2020.
The Beancounter clients: We will appreciate your go-ahead before the utilisation of the deferral.
SDL suspensions
To help improve a business’ cash flow situation, the Government proposed a four-month payment holiday for all Skills Development Levy (SDL) contributions. Businesses will be eligible for the payment holiday between 1 May 2020 – 31 August 2020. This is a payment suspension and no repayment will, therefore, be required after the four-month period.
The Beancounter clients: We will automatically complete your PAYE return with zero SDL for this period. Please note this is for payroll period commencing 1 May 2020 and will not include April’s payroll period.
Application for Essential Services permits during Level 4
1) Determine if your businesses are allowed to operate under lockdown level 4 restrictions. Follow the link here for full a list of all the industries permitted.
c)After you’ve registered, you will be able to download your certificate, but a copy will also be emailed to you.
d) Ensure that all employees who come to work obtain an official letter of employment (aka business permit), with the business logo thereon.
e) Staff must have the business permit with their identity documents with them at all times. A template hereof can be found here.
The Beancounter clients: Your account manager will be able to help you with any company details you might require during your application or can apply for this on your behalf.
TERS submissions and feedback
A few side notes:
a) If you were able to pay your employees in April 2020, but is unable to do so in May 2020 and June 2020, you will have to submit the April data stating that the amounts were paid to staff. Thereafter you will submit for the month of May and June, during May and June, as you have to submit new schedules for each month in play.
b) There are no submission deadline dates, which means you can still submit for the month of April 2020, after 30 April 2020.
c) Furthermore, the UIF states that the turnaround time for payouts and/or feedback is 10 working days.
d) Here’s a quick guide on how the amounts of the benefits paid out has been calculated.
e)When your business is back to full capacity, or has been operating at full capacity during the lockdown, you cannot claim from the UIF TERS benefit. This is because it would be in contradiction to the signed MOA that you accepted as the agreement between your business and the UIF.
The Beancounter clients: We are aware of the confusion the UIF’s calculation errors have caused, and we are working around the clock to ensure that submissions we have made were corrected by the UIF. Please inform us if you have received additional funds and payout schedules in order for us to ensure that the UIF has rectified their errors.
Cash flow template
As an added extra, you can download our cash flow template here: https://thebeancounter.co.za/cash-flow-template/. This can be an extremely useful tool to help you with your business cash flow and the planning thereof for the months ahead.
Until next week…
As mentioned, the coronavirus epidemic and the extended national lockdown have forced businesses to innovate as it adapts to new working environments. We here at The Beancounter hope this information will help you prepare for the months ahead, and thrive thereafter.
As always, if you have any questions as one of our valued clients, please contact your account manager who will be able to provide you with the help you need.