Trustees, lenders and their advisers must ensure that the Letters of Authority issued to a security SPV owner trust includes the right suffix for the Masters Office in which it is registered. The suffix must be used in all documents relating to the trust.

The Masters Offices across South Africa have changed the way in which inter vivos trusts are identified on registration. Each Masters Office will have its own suffix to the registration number to identify the office of registration. For instance, a trust registered in Johannesburg would be called IT1234/2014 (G) and a Cape Town trust would be IT1234/2014 (C).

The suffixes for each Masters Office are set out in the table below.

Masters Offices across South Africa have traditionally issued Letters of Authority by allocating reference numbers commencing with 1 followed by the year of registration. As a result, trusts registered in different masters offices can have identical reference numbers, which has led to adverse consequences. SARS has rejected applications to register trusts for tax purposes because another trust with an identical number is registered on its system. Commercial banks have rejected applications to open bank accounts in the name of the trusts for the same reason. The problem should be solved by the new system.

Office Suffix
Bisho H
Bloemfontein B
Cape   Town C
Durban D
Grahamstown E
Johannesburg G
Kimberley K
Mahikeng   (formerly Mafikeng) M
Mthatha   (formerly Umtata) U
Nelspruit MN
Pietermaritzburg N
Polokwane L
Port   Elizabeth S
Pretoria T
Thohoyandou V