The new duties most recently imposed on trustees not only involve substantially more administration than ever before, but also entail impossible deadlines and hefty penalties. These additional duties arise from legislative changes following South Africa’s grey listing by the global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force, as well as new requirements from SARS.
As a result, all trustees of all trusts now have new levels of administrative duties, with some of the impossible deadlines having already passed, exposing all trustees to harsh penalties including fines of up to R10 million or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both. This makes it crucial for trustees to seek professional assistance going forward in attending to their duties as trustees.