Who Appoints the Public Officer?

People ask a lot of questions about public officers, such as who can be a public officer, when does a company have to appoint a public officer, what does a public officer do, and of course, who appoints the public officer?

Considering that a public officer acts as the official liaison and tax representative of a company to the South African Revenue Services (SARS), you can be sure that SARS has a finger in the pie, when it comes to appointing a public officer.

SARS has the authority to appoint a director, company secretary or member (in the case of a CC), if the company hasn’t appointed a public officer within the expected timeframe.

Any company that has started trading has one month in which to appoint and register a public officer with SARS, and the same applies for those who have invested in or hired business premises in South Africa.

In the case where all the directors of a company that’s been incorporated in South African aren’t residents of the country, Kilgetty Statutory Services is able to step up to the plate, and to provide a public officer to ensure a proactive approach to all tax-related matters for the company.

Who appoints the public officer?

Now that we’ve got SARS out of the way, in terms of their rights to appoint a public officer, let’s look at other ways in which a public officer is appointed.

Company constitution

Based on the company’s constitution or other governing guidelines, this is where it will be specified who will be able to appoint the public officer, on behalf of the company.

Board meeting resolution

Depending on the size of the company, a public officer is sometimes appointed when the directors of the company pass a board resolution, at a directors meeting.

One thing that is stressed when it comes to the appointment of someone such as a public officer, is that the company should make sure the person appointed, gives written consent to act as public officer for the company.

Once this is done, the company has to notify SARS of the appointment, giving all the relevant details of the public officer to their office.

Is a public officer responsible for failure to meet tax obligations?

The short answer to this is; yes! Any failure on the part of the public officer to meet any tax obligations is considered a failure on the part of the company.  In fact, SARS has the authority to claim any outstanding monies from the public officer directly, or from anyone that has had anything to do with taxes in the company.

Who can be appointed a public officer

In South Africa, a public officer has to be;

• A resident of South Africa
• A person who is at least 18 years’ old
• A natural person
• A person who is approved by SARS

How can Kilgetty Public Officer Services be of assistance to you?

Not only is Kilgetty right at the forefront of industry change, which is essential knowledge for any business, their IT team is constantly hard at work, to develop new solutions designed to cut costs for you, on every front.

Whether you’re making use of their administrative services, corporate services or high level company secretarial services and public officer services, contact Kilgetty to find out more about how this team of professionals will tailor all your statutory needs, keeping you well ahead of the competition.