XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Country Restriction: South Africa only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The “Bill Raised with Supplier Not Registered for VAT” XBert finds bills that include VAT even though the supplier was not registered for VAT with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) at the time the bill was raised. Claiming input VAT on these bills is not allowed, so catching them early helps you avoid rejected claims, repayments and penalties.
What it does
XBert looks at your purchase bills and checks each supplier against South Africa's official business register. It compares the supplier's VAT registration status with the date on the bill, so it can tell whether VAT was correctly charged. When a bill carries VAT but the supplier was not VAT registered on that date, XBert raises an alert.
How it works
XBert raises this alert only when all of the following are true:
The bill has a status of Draft, Submitted or Authorised. Voided and deleted bills are ignored.
The bill includes a VAT amount greater than zero. Bills with no VAT are ignored.
The supplier is matched exactly to a business on the South African register using its enterprise number. Loose or name-only matches are not used, so look-alike businesses do not trigger a false alert.
That matched business was not registered for VAT on the date the bill was raised.
XBert checks each bill against the date it was raised. If the supplier was VAT registered at that time, the bill will not trigger an alert even if the supplier later cancelled their VAT registration. If XBert cannot confirm the supplier's VAT status, it does not raise the alert. Where the same supplier has more than one affected bill, XBert groups them into a single alert and totals the VAT involved.
Example / Use Case
Thandi, a bookkeeper at a Cape Town design studio, enters a bill for R8,250 from a regular printing supplier. The bill includes VAT of R1,050. XBert matches the supplier to its enterprise number on the South African register and finds that the business was not registered for VAT on the date of the bill.
Without the alert, Thandi would have claimed the R1,050 as input VAT on the next return. Because the supplier is not VAT registered, SARS would reject the claim and the studio would have to repay the R1,050. Thandi contacts the supplier, who confirms they are not VAT registered and sends a corrected invoice with no VAT. She updates the bill to remove the VAT, and the studio's return stays correct.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Which countries it supports
South Africa only.
Processes
This alert falls under Purchases (Accounts Payable) and helps your business stay compliant with VAT rules and avoid penalties.
To resolve this alert:
Open the supplier and the bills shown in the alert.
Confirm the supplier's VAT registration status, for example by using the SARS VAT vendor search or by asking the supplier for their VAT registration details.
If the supplier is not VAT registered, ask them for a corrected invoice that does not include VAT.
Update the bill in your accounting software so the VAT is removed and the amounts are correct.
If the supplier is in fact VAT registered, update their contact record with their VAT number so the bill reads correctly.
Once the bill is corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.
Validating supplier VAT details during your review process helps you avoid paying or claiming VAT on bills from non-registered suppliers and prevents problems with SARS.