Seelan Moonsamy
Senior Tax Advisor | Johannesburg
Contact
T: +27 11 669 9214
E: seelan.moonsamy@bowmanslaw.com
Overview
Seelan specialises in various aspects of Value-Added Tax (“VAT”) and gained extensive experience working at a top tier law firm where he acted for clients in the insurance, mining, education, banking, retail, petroleum and telecommunications industries.
Seelan’s experience includes: assisting in alternative dispute resolution; providing VAT opinions; applications for private binding rulings to SARS; conducting VAT due diligence reviews; etc.
Seelan has been involved in the legislative aspects and policy issues related to Indirect Taxes (with a specific focus on VAT, ranging from policy discussions, legislation changes, and drafting the applicable explanatory memorandum inserts), and has managed the related stakeholder consultations, during his tenure at the National Treasury. At National Treasury, he worked closely with Prof. Keith Engel.
Seelan has also presented at the Tax Indaba and has conducted VAT based workshop training for various clients.
Seelan has a participatory management style, encourages debate, feedback and constant learning. He enjoys finding solutions to legal and practical challenges that clients’ face.
Experience
- Advising a Swedish company on how to set up operations in SA relating to the procurement and import of raw materials, the toll manufacture and export of finished product (i.e. batteries) and sales to local market – dealing with SARS on VAT technical aspects that arose due to operational issues that precipitated a change in the business model used by the company.*
- Advising clients on VAT apportionment methodologies to adopt, given their business models and approaching SARS for a VAT ruling to confirm methodology.*
- Advising a government-controlled entity involved in the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity to restructure, whereby its 3 divisions were to be housed in 3 legal entities on the most tax efficient manner to effectuate such a restructure. This was done, inter alia, to improve the stability of national electricity supply, to create transparency, to improve solvency and liquidity of the entity, to ensure grid efficiency and to ensure that PPA’s can be entered into with the private sector.*
- Conducting VAT due diligence reviews in relation to various Private Equity deals concluded in the mining, advertising, energy, infrastructure space. etc.*
- Providing clients with VAT assistance on various interpretative issues related to adverse audit findings issued by their external auditors.*
- Assisting a commercial bank (seller) in the business of purchasing “Energy Solutions” and supplying “Commercial Energy” to prospective clients, on how to structure the transaction to obtain tax efficiency. The seller and client (as “buyer”) entered into a Power Purchase Agreement, in which the seller arranged for the Development Partner to construct an “Energy Solution” on the Landowner’s land (i.e. the “Project Site”) and thereafter sell the Commercial Energy generated by the Energy Solution on the Project Site to the client.*
- Advising clients on VAT apportionment methodologies to adopt, given their business models and approaching SARS for a VAT ruling to confirm methodology.*
- Unpacking the VAT implications of: JV’s and partnerships; main business and branch issues; payments made in terms of a settlement agreement in resolving disputes; liquidated damages paid for the delay and/or the loss and expense suffered or incurred by an Employer for which the Contractor is liable, in terms of an EPC Contract; etc.*
- Assisting mining clients with the tax implications of financial provisioning required in terms of section 44(1)(aH) of National Environmental Management Act No. 107 of 1998 read with the Financial Provisioning Regulations 2015.*
- Zero rating of services in relation to advisory services in relation to portfolios situated offshore and toll manufacturing services rendered in South Africa to foreign customers.
- Advising a television broadcaster on its obligations in terms of agreements entered into with foreign suppliers of content and/or programmes, and ways to mitigate VAT risk related to gross up clauses.*
- PBO and welfare organisations – structuring of agreements and apportionment issues; interaction with SARS and securing VAT rulings.*
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
- BCom (Acc) – University of Natal (Dbn)
- BCom Honours (Acc) – Unisa
- MCom (Tax) – North-West
- Masters in Business Leadership – Unisa
Overview
Seelan specialises in various aspects of Value-Added Tax (“VAT”) and gained extensive experience working at a top tier law firm where he acted for clients in the insurance, mining, education, banking, retail, petroleum and telecommunications industries.
Seelan’s experience includes: assisting in alternative dispute resolution; providing VAT opinions; applications for private binding rulings to SARS; conducting VAT due diligence reviews; etc.
Seelan has been involved in the legislative aspects and policy issues related to Indirect Taxes (with a specific focus on VAT, ranging from policy discussions, legislation changes, and drafting the applicable explanatory memorandum inserts), and has managed the related stakeholder consultations, during his tenure at the National Treasury. At National Treasury, he worked closely with Prof. Keith Engel.
Seelan has also presented at the Tax Indaba and has conducted VAT based workshop training for various clients.
Seelan has a participatory management style, encourages debate, feedback and constant learning. He enjoys finding solutions to legal and practical challenges that clients’ face.
Experience
- Advising a Swedish company on how to set up operations in SA relating to the procurement and import of raw materials, the toll manufacture and export of finished product (i.e. batteries) and sales to local market – dealing with SARS on VAT technical aspects that arose due to operational issues that precipitated a change in the business model used by the company.*
- Advising clients on VAT apportionment methodologies to adopt, given their business models and approaching SARS for a VAT ruling to confirm methodology.*
- Advising a government-controlled entity involved in the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity to restructure, whereby its 3 divisions were to be housed in 3 legal entities on the most tax efficient manner to effectuate such a restructure. This was done, inter alia, to improve the stability of national electricity supply, to create transparency, to improve solvency and liquidity of the entity, to ensure grid efficiency and to ensure that PPA’s can be entered into with the private sector.*
- Conducting VAT due diligence reviews in relation to various Private Equity deals concluded in the mining, advertising, energy, infrastructure space. etc.*
- Providing clients with VAT assistance on various interpretative issues related to adverse audit findings issued by their external auditors.*
- Assisting a commercial bank (seller) in the business of purchasing “Energy Solutions” and supplying “Commercial Energy” to prospective clients, on how to structure the transaction to obtain tax efficiency. The seller and client (as “buyer”) entered into a Power Purchase Agreement, in which the seller arranged for the Development Partner to construct an “Energy Solution” on the Landowner’s land (i.e. the “Project Site”) and thereafter sell the Commercial Energy generated by the Energy Solution on the Project Site to the client.*
- Advising clients on VAT apportionment methodologies to adopt, given their business models and approaching SARS for a VAT ruling to confirm methodology.*
- Unpacking the VAT implications of: JV’s and partnerships; main business and branch issues; payments made in terms of a settlement agreement in resolving disputes; liquidated damages paid for the delay and/or the loss and expense suffered or incurred by an Employer for which the Contractor is liable, in terms of an EPC Contract; etc.*
- Assisting mining clients with the tax implications of financial provisioning required in terms of section 44(1)(aH) of National Environmental Management Act No. 107 of 1998 read with the Financial Provisioning Regulations 2015.*
- Zero rating of services in relation to advisory services in relation to portfolios situated offshore and toll manufacturing services rendered in South Africa to foreign customers.
- Advising a television broadcaster on its obligations in terms of agreements entered into with foreign suppliers of content and/or programmes, and ways to mitigate VAT risk related to gross up clauses.*
- PBO and welfare organisations – structuring of agreements and apportionment issues; interaction with SARS and securing VAT rulings.*
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