Third Party Data Submission Platform

What’s new?

8 April 2025 – SARSQA Connect Direct Public Certificate has changed

Dear Stakeholder, kindly note that our SARSQA Connect Direct Public Certificate has changed. For those who have not updated it yet, please urgently contact the 3rd Party Data Support ([email protected]) to get the latest SARSQA Connect Direct Public Certificate to update it on your side.

13 March 2025 – The Third Party Data Annual Submissions period is opening soon

The SARS Third Party Data Annual Submissions process for the period 1 March 2024 – 28 February 2025 opens on 1 April 2025 and will close on 31 May 2025.

Important notice

• Please make every effort to timeously submit complete and accurate information the first time around, to minimise the need for subsequent revisions. Multiple revisions significantly compromise the reliability of the data, our ability to expand the auto assessment population, ensuring a high degree of matching accuracy and ultimately impacting your client’s ability to fulfil their tax obligations.
• You are urged to always use the SARS Test Platform that is and will remain open *throughout the submission period. Doing so ensures that all your data files submitted, are adequately tested for conformity with the External BRS requirements prior to being submitted to the SARS Live Platform. Testing Support is available during this period to ensure that any issues picked up during testing are urgently attended to and resolved.
• The SARS Live Platform will remain open throughout the submission period.
• Please pay close attention to the Submission Files Response Codes sent during both the Test and Live Any Response Code other than “003 – Successfully Uploaded: All records accepted and processed”, must be attended to and investigated.
• You are urged to submit your data files for the 2025 tax year as soon as you are ready and do not delay or leave your submissions till the last minute. The final two weeks of the submission period is always busy, and if you delay your submissions, you will experience delays in the processing of the submitted data.
• In the event you need to amend your submissions, please alert us of such, prior to making revisions and make the necessary corrections timeously.

Submissions in respect of data files and declarations of the various reportable data types are detailed in the table below.

Submission periods and deadlines

Making your submission

Please follow the following five steps to prepare your submission file, submit to SARS, and declare your data before the submission due date:

• Step 1: Prepare a data file as per specified BRS.
• Step 2: If you have not already done so, you will need to enrol for Third Party Data Submission on SARS eFiling. You may use either:
  • eFiling (via a data submission form with a limited volume)
  • Connect: Direct® (Unlimited)
  • Secured File Gateway [HTTPS] (for files smaller than 10MB)
• Step 3: To test your data file on the SARS Test Platform, request access from Third Party Data Support
• Step 4: Submit the data on the SARS Production Platform using your preferred channel as per step 2 above.
• Step 5: Declare a summary of your data submissions by submitting the specified declaration form via eFiling.

FATCA and CRS – Procedural Requirements

• In respect of FATCA and the CRS Regulation, if you have no financial accounts to report, you are required to submit a NIL file and a declaration form as proof that you have done the required due diligence and that you declare that you have no financial accounts. This can now be done on eFiling via the FTI-01 form.

Should you experience any challenges while making your submissions, you are welcome to contact us by emailing SARS Third Party Data Support ([email protected].

Please follow our webpage to be kept up to date on changes and communication in relation to SARS 3rd Party Data.

What is Third Party Data submission?

Who must submit data to SARS?

• Attorneys
• Banks (including Mutual banks)
• Companies listed on the JSE that issue bonds, debentures or financial products
• Co-operatives as well as any other person who purchases livestock, produce, timber, ore, mineral or precious stones from a primary producer other than for retail purposes.
• Co-operative Banks
• Estate agents
• Financial Institutions (such as Long-term insurers, Pension funds and Collective investment schemes)
• Medical Schemes
• Organs of state that issue bonds, debentures or financial products
• Postbank
• State-owned companies that issue bonds, debentures or financial products
• Any person who pays an amount of interest to or for the benefit of a foreign person (to the extent that it is regarded as being from a source in SA)
• SA resident companies, foreign resident companies whose shares are listed on the JSE, and regulated intermediaries paying dividends/foreign dividends
• Reporting institutions as described in the FACTA agreement.

What must be submitted?

• Withholding Tax on Interest
• Automatic Exchange of Information (FATCA AND CRS)
• Dividends Tax
• IT3 data submissions:
  • IT3(b)
  • IT3(c)
  • IT3(e)
  • IT3(s)
  • Medical scheme contributions
  • Insurance payments

For an overview of the data types to be submitted, click here.

When & how must it be submitted?

Why must it be submitted?

• Confirm whether a person has filed or submitted the correct information in his/her tax returns.
• Ensure that the information or documents are compliant with the provisions of a relevant tax Act.
• Determine a person’s tax liability.

Need help?

• Tax Reference number: XXXXXXXXXX
• Platform: Test or Live
• Submission channel: (HTTPS or Connect:Direct or eFiling)
• Detailed explanation of the query: If the query relates to system error then what is the event being executed, what are the steps completed, what is the expected system response and what is the actual system response. If the query relates to process enquiry then state the published document that outlines the process, the section and page number.
• Screen print of the error (where applicable)

To see the documents for each data type, visit the relevant data type webpage.

For a list of archived documents, click here.