Letter of Engagement Appointment of NEL Accountants Incorporated as Accountant & Tax Practitioner

Authorisation & mandate

1. I/We authorise NEL Accountants Incorporated ("the creditor") to draw against the account specified above (or any other account I/we may nominate in writing) the amounts due for services rendered, on the dates and at the frequency stated above, by way of debit order.
2. I/We authorise my/our bank to honour these debit order instructions, and acknowledge that this authority may be ceded or assigned to a third party only with my/our written consent.
3. I/We understand and agree that the amount deducted may vary in line with the fees or invoices due from time to time, and that reasonable notice of any change to a fixed amount will be given.
4. I/We understand that this authority may be cancelled by me/us on written notice, but that such cancellation does not cancel any obligation to pay amounts already due to the creditor.
5. I/We understand that should a deduction be returned unpaid, the creditor may re-present the instruction, and that bank charges and any agreed administration fee may be levied.
6. I/We acknowledge that all payments will be processed through a system operated by a registered payment system operator, and that the withdrawals will be regarded as ordinary withdrawals from the account.

1. Appointment & scope. You appoint NEL Accountants Incorporated ("the firm", "we", "us", "our") to provide the services ticked in section 2, and authorise us to act as your registered tax practitioner and representative with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and, where applicable, the CIPC. Work outside the agreed scope will be quoted and agreed separately.
2. Period of engagement. This engagement begins on the date of signature and continues until terminated in writing. Unless otherwise stated, it applies to the current and future financial and tax periods.
3. Our responsibilities. We will perform the services with reasonable care and skill and in accordance with applicable professional and ethical standards. We will keep you informed of material matters and statutory deadlines of which we are aware.
4. Nature of our work — not an audit. Unless separately engaged in writing to perform an audit or independent review, our work does not constitute an audit, review or assurance engagement, is not designed to detect fraud, error or non-compliance, and no assurance opinion is expressed.
5. Your responsibilities. You are responsible for the accuracy, completeness and timely delivery of the information and records you provide, for maintaining adequate accounting records, for the safeguarding of your assets, and for the prevention and detection of fraud. You will disclose all information relevant to the services. We are entitled to rely on the information you provide without independent verification.
6. SARS & regulatory authority. You authorise us to register as your tax practitioner, to access your SARS eFiling profile, to submit returns and supporting documents, and to correspond with SARS, the CIPC and other regulators on your behalf in respect of the services. You remain ultimately responsible for the accuracy of returns submitted and for settling all taxes, penalties and interest.
7. Fees & billing. Fees are based on the time, complexity, risk and seniority of staff involved, plus statutory fees and disbursements (e.g. CIPC, SARS, courier, travel). Quoted fees are estimates unless fixed in writing. Invoices are payable within the stated terms (or on presentation if none is stated). We may require a deposit before commencing and may review fees annually.
8. Overdue accounts. Interest may be charged on overdue amounts at a reasonable rate, and we may suspend work on any overdue account. You are liable for reasonable collection and legal costs incurred in recovering unpaid fees.
9. FICA & anti-money-laundering. As an accountable institution under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, we are required to identify and verify you, to keep due-diligence records, and to monitor the relationship on an ongoing basis. We may be obliged by law to report suspicious or unusual transactions and certain cash transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre, and may not be permitted to inform you that such a report has been made. We may delay, suspend or decline to act where we are unable to complete due diligence.
10. Confidentiality. We treat your information as confidential and will not disclose it except with your consent, where required by law or regulation, to our professional advisers and quality reviewers under confidentiality, or to enforce our rights. Confidentiality does not override our statutory reporting duties under paragraph 9.
11. POPIA & data protection. We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. By signing, you consent to us collecting, holding and processing personal information (including that of related parties and beneficial owners, for whom you confirm you are authorised to provide it) for the purpose of providing the services and meeting our legal obligations.
12. Electronic communication. You consent to communication by e-mail and electronic means. While we take reasonable precautions, we are not liable for interception, corruption or loss of electronic communications outside our control.
13. Ownership of documents & lien. Working papers and files we create remain our property. Documents belonging to you will be returned on request once all fees due have been paid. We are entitled to retain your records by way of lien until outstanding fees are settled, to the extent permitted by law.
14. Retention of records. We retain engagement records for the period required by law (generally at least five years) and may then securely destroy them without further notice.
15. Limitation of liability. To the extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising from the engagement (whether in contract, delict or otherwise) is limited to the fees paid for the specific service giving rise to the claim. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, nor for loss arising from incomplete or inaccurate information provided by you or from your failure to act on our advice. Nothing limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
16. Indemnity. You indemnify us against claims by third parties arising from our reliance on information or instructions you provide, except to the extent caused by our negligence or wilful default.
17. Conflicts of interest. We will take reasonable steps to identify conflicts and will discuss with you how any conflict will be managed should one arise.
18. Professional standards. We act in accordance with the rules and codes of the professional bodies to which the firm and its directors belong, and you may refer any unresolved complaint to the relevant body.
19. Complaints. If you are dissatisfied, please raise it with the director responsible so that we can address it promptly. We aim to resolve complaints fairly and without delay.
20. Termination. Either party may terminate this engagement on written notice. Fees and disbursements for work performed up to the date of termination remain payable. On termination we will, after settlement of fees, make available the records to which you are entitled.
21. Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
22. Variation & entire agreement. This letter and any written schedules form the entire agreement between us and supersede prior discussions. Any variation must be agreed in writing.
23. Governing law. This engagement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.