The Supreme Court of Appeal's landmark ruling allows taxpayers to be represented by non-legal practitioners in the Tax Court, challenging SARS' restrictive interpretation of representation rights. This decision has significant implications for taxpayers and their representatives in tax disputes.
In a significant judgment handed down this week, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) delivered what may become one of the most important procedural tax judgments in recent years. In Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v Poulter [2026] ZASCA 68, the SCA dismissed Sars’ appeal and confirmed that taxpayers may be represented in the Tax Court by duly authorised non-legal practitioners.
The judgment strikes directly at Sars’ increasingly technical and procedural approach to tax litigation, and has potentially far-reaching implications for taxpayers, accountants, tax practitioners, and dispute resolution processes before the Tax Court.
Background to the dispute
The matter arose after Candice-Jean Poulter appealed a Sars assessment for the 2018 tax year. She authorised her father, Gary Van der Merwe, to appear on her behalf in the Tax Court by way of a power of attorney.
