XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Country Restriction: South Africa only
Risk Type: Tax Risk
Business Function: Purchases
Overview
The “Payment to Supplier Not Registered for VAT” XBert checks supplier payments that include VAT and confirms the supplier was actually registered for VAT at the time of the transaction. It matters because claiming back VAT on a payment to a supplier who was not registered can leave you owing money to SARS, plus penalties and interest, when your return is reviewed.
What it does
XBert looks at the suppliers you have paid and compares each one against the South African company register and its VAT-registration status. When a payment or bank spend transaction included VAT, but the matched supplier was not a registered VAT vendor on the date of that transaction, XBert flags it. For each affected supplier it adds up the total VAT charged and the total amount spent so you can see the size of the exposure.
How it works
XBert reviews your supplier bill payments and bank spend transactions from the past 12 months and fires when all of the following are true:
The transaction included VAT (any VAT amount above zero).
The supplier is matched to its official record on the South African company register using an exact match on the Enterprise Number. Loose or name-only matches are deliberately ignored, so you only see confident results.
The supplier was not registered for VAT as at the transaction date. XBert checks the registration position on the day of the payment, not just today, so a supplier who was correctly registered when you paid them will not be flagged, even if they have since deregistered.
XBert checks unpaid (draft), submitted and approved transactions so you can be warned before you pay. It ignores transactions that have been voided or deleted. If a supplier’s VAT-registration status cannot be confirmed, XBert holds off rather than raise a false alarm, and rechecks once the record is refreshed.
Example / Use Case
Thandi runs a small design studio in Cape Town and started using a new cleaning supplier last year. The supplier was never registered for VAT, but their invoices still added VAT. Over several months Thandi paid four invoices that included R1,840 of VAT in total, and claimed it back on her VAT return. XBert checked the supplier against the South African company register, found no VAT registration on the dates Thandi paid, and flagged the supplier. Thandi contacts the supplier, requests corrected invoices without VAT, adjusts the bills in her accounting software and removes the R1,840 from her VAT claim, avoiding a repayment to SARS and the penalties that can follow an audit.
Accounting software
Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks
Which countries it supports
South Africa only
Processes
This XBert is part of the Purchases & Payables (AP) process and helps ensure VAT is only claimed on payments to genuinely registered suppliers.
To resolve this alert:
Confirm the supplier’s VAT status for the relevant period using the SARS VAT Vendor Search.
Request corrected invoices from the supplier that exclude VAT for any period they were not registered.
Update the affected bills and bank transactions in your accounting software to remove the VAT that was incorrectly applied.
Update the supplier’s tax settings so future transactions are recorded correctly.
Adjust your VAT return so no VAT credit is claimed for this supplier while they were unregistered, and repay or correct any amount already claimed.
Once the records are corrected, mark the XBert as resolved.
By verifying VAT registration and keeping your supplier records up to date, you reduce the risk of incorrect VAT claims and avoid unexpected repayments to SARS.