CHED Finance

Please see previous post of 17-Jan-2007. There has been some confusion over this, with cheque signatories rejecting claims that did not have the FM045 attached. This question has since been hopefully resolved, and it is confirmed that FM045 is NOT required for people who are not UCT staff or students.

To avoid future confusion, it is important that the person requesting payment clearly indicates to cheque signatories that the payee is not a UCT staff member. Ideally there should be some sort of request for payment, signed by the claimant.

In line with recent tax amendments, UCT's daily subsistence rate has been increased.

LOCAL
- R63.50 per day (or part thereof) if the allowance is for incidental costs only, or
- R208 per day (or part thereof) if the allowance is to cover meals as well as incidental costs.
NB: this rate excludes airfare and accommodation.

FOREIGN
- the equivalent of US $200 per day
This rate excludes airfare and accommodation but includes meals and sundries while on official university business within the country being visited.

The amounts given here are NOT to be regarded as an entitlement. These are simply the maximum amounts that can be paid without the recipient incurring tax. The actual amount paid, up to this maximum of US$200, is at the discretion of the fund holder. To put it another way - you can only get what the fund holder can afford.

Please attach a printout from this currency converter site to show the total USD and equivalent ZAR amount being claimed.

Please ensure that the latest copy of the form FM032 is used and refer to the finance website for more details on the S&T policy.

The following important information has been received from the Development and Alumni Dept.

Banking Details for DONATIONS ONLY
(please do not use this account for any other purpose)

Bank name Standard Bank of South Africa Limited
Account name UCT Donations Account
Branch name Rondebosch
Branch address Belmont Road, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa

Branch code 02 50 09
Account number 07 152 2387

Type of account Current
Swift address SBZAZAJJ

Please note that these banking details are for DONATIONS ONLY
(do not use this account for any other purpose)

To assist with prompt identification and processing of donations, please ask donor to (1) include an abbreviated donor name and donation purpose in the bank reference field; and (2) to notify us by email and/or fax a copy of the deposit slip or bank instruction to both the Development and Alumni Department and the UCT department for whom the funds are intended, together with a letter or narration explaining what the donation is for.

When we are supplied with ad hoc services, such as web design, or workshop facilitation, there are constantly questions around who should be paid through HR and who by Purchase Order. Paying by HR means that people often have to wait longer, and then they get taxed at 25% as well.

It is not UCT's role to police whether such people pay their tax or not. But if we don't satisfy ourselves that the service provider is entitled to be treated as independent, then we (as UCT) become liable for the taxes not deducted. This is why we have to be very sure of ourselves before submitting anything for payment via a Purchase Order.

The default position is very simple. If someone argues that they shouldn't be paying tax, they should be advised to first approach the Receiver of Revenue. If the Receiver agrees, s/he will issue a tax directive to that effect, and UCT will accept a copy of that directive as the basis for its action.

Where there is no tax directive, and the service provider insists that their circumstances should allow them to be treated as independent people, and not as employees, they should be asked to complete a CHED contractors questionaire and submit it to the Faculty Finance Manager with their invoice. This questionaire MUST be signed by the person claiming independent status. We can, if challenged, then show that we have something solid on which we made any decision.

Reimbursements for people who are not UCT staff (even though they may be paid via the payroll) are processed on a normal purchase order, and the FM045 form is not required. However, it is important that adequate supporting documentation is attached to the purchase order to allow for verification of the claim. In addition, if the claim is for more than R2,000 it should also be authorised by the Faculty Finance Manager. Cheque signatories at Bremner will reject requests for reimbursement that do not satisfy the above criteria.

Reimbursements are extremely costly to administer and process. For this reason staff are encouraged to use other means for purchasing whenever possible. Purchasing Cards are available in all CHED Departments, and this will often be an appropriate means of purchaing small items. If minor cash reimbursements are required (and anything under R300 is minor in this context), then petty cash should be used.

All claims for reimbursement of expenses must in future be submitted on FM045. You can (and always should) download the latest version as you need it.

Please ensure that all your receipts are securely stapled to the back of the form before submission.

And note that for staff members you HAVE to become a 'Staff Vendor' before a reimbursement can be processed. If you're not, then use FM040 or e-mail your name and staff number to the purchasing department with a request that you be given a Staff Vendor number.

HR (Cheryl Samuel) has spoken with UCT’s Immigration Consultant about payments to visiting academics. The consultant is preparing a guideline document for UCT, but it seems there is no limit on the subsistence which we can pay to visiting academics, as long as the appointment is for less than three months.

Such visitors would need to have a BUSINESS VISITOR’s permit, AND A LETTER FROM DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS before they start to confirm that they can work here for a period less than three months and receive remuneration.

Appointments of longer than three months still require a proper work permit. This can take three months to secure, so needs to be done way in advance of the actual visit.

Please note that ALL requests for reimbursement of expenses must be accompanied by for FM045 which can be downloaded at http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/sapweb/forms/fm045.doc

The policy (PAY005) is not new, and has been in place since July 2002. However, whilst in the past Creditors have been quite relaxed about it, in future, if you don't submit the form you won't get paid.