What’s New at SARS

9 May 2024 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendments notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the –

• imposition of provisional payments in relation to anti-dumping duties against the alleged dumping of active yeasts classifiable in tariff subheading 2102.10, originating in or imported from the Republic of Zimbabwe – ITAC Report No. 729.

Publication details will be made available later

8 May 2024 – Achieving our Vision 2024 of a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that is trusted and admired is of paramount importance. Pivotal to the delivery of our vision are our digital platforms and technology infrastructure. To provide clarity and certainty, make it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations and building public trust and confidence, our technology assets must demonstrate the highest levels of availability, robustness and security.

In accordance with our Vision and Strategic Objectives, which include modernising our systems to provide Digital and Streamlined online services, we are hard at work ensuring that our digital platforms and technology infrastructure are available, robust and secure, by performing regular upgrades, enhancements and maintenance.

Considering the above, SARS Digital platform upgrades are scheduled for Saturday, 11 May 2024 from 20h00 to 00h30 Sunday, 12 May 2024.

During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling, Tax and Customs Digital Platforms.

Responses (CUSRES messages) to transactions submitted during this time will be delayed.

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Saturday, 11 May 2024 @ 14h00.

7 May 2024 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods

7 May 2024 – The SARS Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2024/25 is now available. This APP builds on a strong foundation and our lasting dedication to the South African public, taxpayers and traders. In this financial year, SARS commits to:

1. Prioritise the most essential and beneficial strategic initiatives. The initiatives aim to use technology to help taxpayers and traders meet their tax obligations voluntarily, increase public trust and confidence in SARS, and to make SARS a lean, integrated, and data-driven organisation through the SARS Modernisation Programme.

2. Operationalise our aspiration that “tax just happens” guided by the principles of “Tax Administration 3.0” and “the best service is no service”. The end-state we aim to reach is a seamless taxpayer and trader experience that is clear, simple, easy, and accessible.

3. Further the implementation of our revenue management philosophy that conceptualises revenue as made up of revenue from the economy (including tax-policy interventions) and an efficient compliance programme. SARS will continue to explore opportunities to enhance base effects from compliance interventions by executing its compliance programme.

4. Build our people capability; strengthen the leadership bench; focus on achieving excellent operations management; implement our enhanced employee value proposition; and finalise organisational arrangements and focus on succession management.

See the full SARS Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2024/25 document here or visit the Annual reports & Strategic plans webpage.

7 May 2024 – An essential part of the delivery of SARS’s Vision 2024 is the organisation’s digital platforms and technology infrastructure. As such, on 20 April 2024, SARS successfully released the system enhancements to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in resolving Trust tax disputes. These enhancements will aid in providing clarity and certainty and make it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations.

The Trust dispute process was always a manual process that was done using the ADR1 and ADR2 forms (alternative dispute resolution forms). The new enhancements for Trusts will entail the submission of disputes through eFiling or by visiting a SARS branch. Therefore, the current electronic functionalities for disputes, Requests for Reasons, Requests for Remission (RFR), Notices of Objection, and Notices of Appeal, now accommodate submissions by Trusts.

Both channels will assist taxpayers in capturing the RFR, or dispute, via a fully guided process.

However, it should be noted that Trusts that submitted any of the processes mentioned above before 20 April 2024 should still conclude their dispute through the manual process.

6 May 2024 – There is a new scam doing the rounds talking of an outstanding amount. Please do not open the link and delete the email immediately. An example of this scam was published on our Scams & Phishing webpage.

3 May 2024 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Draft Interpretation Note – Income Tax Exemption: Water Services Provider

Due date for comment: 7 June 2024

3 May 2024 – The tax workshop schedules for May have been published. See under the following provinces:

• Limpopo
• North West
• Free State & Northern Cape
• KwaZulu-Natal

More schedules will be published as they become available.

30 April 2024 – To ensure that SARS improves service and provide clarity and certainty to make it easier for Taxpayers to meet their tax obligations, SARS is holding Annual Employer Reconciliation Webinars for the month of May 2024 in KwaZulu Natal.

30 April 2024 – Achieving our Vision 2024 of a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that is trusted and admired is of paramount importance. Pivotal to the delivery of our vision are our digital platforms and technology infrastructure. To provide clarity and certainty, make it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations and building public trust and confidence, our technology assets must demonstrate the highest levels of availability, robustness and security.

In accordance with our Vision and Strategic Objectives, which include modernising our systems to provide Digital and Streamlined online services, we are hard at work ensuring that our digital platforms and technology infrastructure are available, robust and secure, by performing regular upgrades, enhancements and maintenance.

Considering the above, SARS Digital platform upgrades are scheduled for :

Friday, 3 May 2024 from 18h00 to 20h00

Saturday, 4 May 2024 from 22h00 to 02h00 Sunday, 5 May 2024 .

During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling, Tax and Customs Digital Platforms.

Responses (CUSRES messages) to transactions submitted during this time will be delayed.

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit priority Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest by Saturday, 4 May 2024 @ 21h00.

30 April 2024 – South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R7.3 billion in March 2024. This surplus was attributable to exports of R164.1 billion and imports of R156.8 billion, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN).

The year-to-date (01 January to 31 March 2024) preliminary trade balance surplus of R10.8 billion was an improvement from the R5.7 billion trade balance deficit for the comparable period in 2023. On a year-on-year basis, export flows for March 2024 (R164.1 billion) were 15.3% lower compared to R193.7 billion recorded in March 2023, whilst import flows were 15.2% lower having decreased from R184.9 billion in March 2023 to R156.8 billion in the current period.

On a month-to-month basis, exports increased by R2.9 billion (1.8%) from R161.2 billion to R164.1 billion between February and March 2024, whilst imports also increased by R9.0 billion (6.1%) from R147.8 billion to R156.8 billion over the same period. Export flows increased in March, driven by Gold, Coal, and Chemical Wood Pulp. Imports flows increased on the back of sizable increases in the importation of Petroleum Oils (Excluding Crude), Crude Oil, and Banknotes.

Due to ongoing Vouchers of Correction (VOCs), the preliminary trade balance surplus of R14.0 billion announced for February 2024 was revised downwards by R0.7 billion, with the final number at R13.3 billion.

See the full media release here.

29 April 2024 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 131 – Exemption of income relating to South African ships used in international shipping

29 April 2024 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 105 (Issue 2) – Deductions in respect of buildings used by hotel keepers

29 April 2024 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 105 – Deductions in respect of buildings used by hotelkeepers

26 April 2024 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991

• Lueven Metals (Pty) Ltd v CSARS (728/2022) [2023] ZASCA 144 (8 November 2023)

Tax law – declaratory order – whether appropriate not considered by high court – narrow basis for entertaining application for declaratory relief in tax matters.

26 April 2024 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendment notice R4755, as published in Government Gazette 50550 on 26 April 2024, are now available.

26 April 2024 – Please note that the submissions platforms for both Secure File Gateway and Connect:Direct will be temporarily offline for planned maintenance between 16:00 and 19:00 on Friday 26 April 2024.

Please do not submit any files in the Production or Test environments during this time, as they will not be received or processed. Files already in the system will be paused and will continue processing upon conclusion of the maintenance.

25 April 2024 – RFP01/2024: Standardization on two (2) Multi-function Printer (MFP) brands across SARS offices

25 April 2024 – The tax workshop schedule for Bloemfontein during May has been published.