Issue 39 – October 2026
Welcome to the October 2026 edition of Connect. This issue covers important SARS updates and developments:
- Latest e@syFile release
- New eFiling process for unmerging profiles
- Improved Diesel Refund registration
- Global Minimum Tax administration capabilities
- Latest Tax Exempt Institutions Connect
- Improvements to Automatic Exchange of Information reporting
Follow the links provided for detailed guidance and supporting resources.
e@syFile Release Notes 8.0.2_418
e@syFile™ Employer allows employers or payroll administrators to:
- Complete, submit, and revise the Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) with ease.
- Use offline functionality when importing tax certificates and capturing EMP501 data offline; go online only when ready to submit to SARS.
- Manage Third-Party Appointments (AA88s) effectively.
- Effortlessly register employees using the Income Tax Registration (ITREG) function.
For more information see the Release Notes here.
Unmerging of eFiling Profiles Now Possible
The merge function allows taxpayers, registered representatives, and tax practitioners to consolidate an entity’s different tax types — such as Income Tax, PAYE, and Customs and Excise — into one eFiling profile. This creates a single, consolidated view of the entity and its tax obligations.
The unmerge function allows users to reverse a previous merge or auto-merge (where entity records were combined incorrectly). Although unmerge was introduced in April 2024, at the time an unmerge had to be requested through the SARS Contact Centre or SARS Taxpayer Service Centre.
The unmerge function is now available on eFiling. This function allows taxpayers, registered representatives, and registered tax practitioners to request an unmerge of incorrectly merged cases via eFiling.
The unmerge option can be used only if cases have been previously merged or auto-merged. The taxpayer can view the current entity record with all associated tax products linked to the entity and all previously merged requests performed.
The go-green principle will apply, and relevant stakeholders will be informed via a rejection or approval letter.
For more information see the Guide to Unmerge Entity Records and the FAQs on how to unmerge tax profiles.
Enhanced Diesel Fund Registration
As part of SARS’s Customs Modernisation Programme, Diesel Refund registration is being separated from VAT registration. A new automated platform for Diesel Refund registration has been developed and was implemented on 18 September 2026. In addition, the Diesel Refund Relationship Management function has been implemented on eFiling. With these enhancements:
- Clients can submit Diesel Refund Registration applications through eFiling and Customs and Excise Branch Office(s).
- Branch front-end agents will capture the applications on behalf of the client on the SARS Online Query System (SOQS). Clients can obtain their Diesel Refunds Registration Number; Request Documents; and Check Diesel Refund Registration Status.
- The Relationship Management function enables clients to formally declare, manage, and maintain relationships linked to their Diesel Refund registration.
For more information, see the Guide to Diesel Refund Relationship Management.
Global Minimum Tax: New Administration Capabilities for Affected Multinational Enterprise Groups
SARS has improved its Global Minimum Tax administration to help affected Multinational Enterprise Groups meet their obligations under the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Rules. See more on the latest developments here.
For more information see the Guide to Submit Global Minimum Tax (GMT) return on eFiling.
Latest Tax Exempt Institutions Connect Is Now Available
The August 2026 issue covers key information that entities applying for Income Tax Exemption should be aware of. This includes selecting the correct “Nature of Entity” when registering for Income Tax, as well as selecting the correct “Exempt Institution” category when applying for Income Tax exemption. We also recap the requirements for Section 18A tax-deductible receipts and the submission of IT3(d) third-party data to SARS.
For more information view the Tax Exempt Intitution newsletter August 2026 issue.
Improvements to AEOI Reporting
SARS is optimising its systems to implement the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) amendments introduced through CRS Schema 3.0 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These changes improve tax transparency, data quality, and reporting requirements for South African financial institutions and SARS.
The changes below have been introduced to SARS’s third-party data environment.
Null Submissions
For active Reporting Financial Institutions with no reportable information for a reporting period:
- A system-generated null-submission indicator has been introduced for SARS internal processing.
- The requirement to submit an FTI02 declaration after a successful FTI01 null submission has been removed.
- A Submitting Entity may include up to 20 Reporting Financial Institutions in a single FTI01 submission.
Full Data Submissions
Key improvements:
- Bringing certain new financial products and institutions into scope, including e-money products, payment institutions, digital wallet platforms, and central-bank currency accounts.
- Strengthening due-diligence obligations through robust self-certification processes and tax-residency identification.
- More comprehensive taxpayer and controlling-person information.
- Better Tax Identification Number (TIN) information.
- Higher data-quality standards to increase accuracy and usability.
These changes will not disrupt SARS’s day-to-day operations. They will support greater use of high-quality information, more effective compliance monitoring, improved identification of offshore tax non-compliance, and revenue collection.
For more information view the updated guide GEN-ENR-01-G04 – How to Submit the FTI01 and Declare Foreign Tax Information FTI02 – External Guide and the latest external Business Requirements Specification External BRS Version 3.0.0-17.
