Legal

Be careful when buying and selling property that you aren’t held to have lent more than R500,000 to the other party.  As a recent High Court case illustrates, that will leave you with no contractual claim to your money. (more…)

SARS has the power to impose severe penalties on any taxpayer failing to declare or pay taxes in accordance with law. For example, in a case recently before the Tax Court, a corporate taxpayer was audited by SARS and found to have overstated input VAT.  It was assessed (after partial allowance of an objection) for – Some R16m in tax, plus 200% “additional tax” - R32m, plus 10% penalties - R1.6m, plus Late payment interest - R5m. (more…)

“White collar criminals who commit offences of a certain magnitude must not be permitted a soft landing” (extract from judgment below) The recent “J Arthur Brown” judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has received a lot of media attention, and victims of serious crime will take heart from the Court’s robust approach. (more…)

“Sad is the day when a party with a watertight case comes to court and he is stopped in his tracks by a sudden death due to a fatal blow from a watertight defence of prescription. The present matter is a classic case of this nature” (extract from judgment below) Here’s another warning from our courts about the dangers of procrastination when it comes to matters of law. (more…)

“Agree, for the law is costly” (old proverb) Our justice system has just taken an exciting new step towards broadening access to justice. From 1 December a new “court-annexed” mediation procedure will be available (piloting initially in Gauteng and North West) to help resolve disputes without the high costs, delays and hostilities often associated with litigation. (more…)

Residential property developers need to note the recent Constitutional Court judgment confirming that you must register with the NHBRC (National Home Builder’s Registration Council) before you conclude a building contract or commence building – if you don’t (or if you register late) you cannot enforce payment.  In fact you commit a criminal offence just by accepting any payment. It is not enough that whichever building contractor/s you use to do the actual construction is/are registered – bothyou as developer and your contractor/s must be registered. [ad name="goldschmidt inline post"] Don’t get this wrong! The developer in question only registered with…

When you agree on a sale, ensure that your agreement is both clear and comprehensive – or risk the pitfalls of litigation. A case recently before the High Court (on appeal from a District Magistrates Court) involved the sale of a furnished apartment, which the buyer intended to let out as holiday accommodation.  A clause in the sale agreement provided that all furniture and crockery in the apartment was included in the sale at a cost of R80,000, but no inventory of the movables was attached to the agreement. [ad name="goldschmidt inline post"] Subsequently the seller prepared an inventory, which the buyer…