Sasol Oil wins R1.3bn tax reprieve from SCA

Sasol Oil has won an appeal lodged with the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), over a ruling which required the oil company to pay R1.3bn to the SA Revenue Services (SARS). A Fin24 report says the group issued a notice to shareholders indicating that the SCA upheld its appeal against the Tax Court of Johannesburg's ruling in favour of SARS in June 2017. Sasol Oil will reverse the accrual of R1.3bn, the shareholder notice stated. The litigation concerns international crude oil procurement activities for the 2005 to 2007 years of assessment. As a result of the Tax Court ruling, Sasol Oil made a provision in its 2018 annual financial statements of R1.3bn. After its appeal was upheld on Friday, it will not have to pay this amount to the tax agency. ‘SARS argued that on the basis of the substance over form doctrine, some crude oil procurement contracts between Sasol Oil and other Sasol companies should be disregarded for tax purposes leading to a higher tax liability for Sasol Oil,’ Sasol's Alex Anderson explained.