Why Commercial Properties Fail the “Going Concern” Test
14 April 2026
In South Africa, “sold as a going concern” is one of the most misunderstood concepts in commercial property transactions. If... the transaction meets SARS’s strict criteria, VAT may be charged at 0% instead of 15%, but only where the legal and practical requirements are properly satisfied.In reality, many deals become unexpectedly expensive because the parties assumed they qualified when they did not. Transactions that were meant to be VAT efficient can end up attracting full VAT, damaging the deal’s financial viability and straining the relationship between buyer and seller. Often, the cause is small structuring or documentation details with very big consequences.