Third Party Data Submission Platform

What’s new?

• 8 May 2023 – REMINDER! Third Party Data Annual Submissions: 1 April 2023 – 31 May 2023: Production Submissions ONLY 3 Weeks to the DUE DATE.

  This communication serves as a reminder that the due date for the SARS Third Party Data Annual Submissions 2023 for the period 1 March 2022 – 28 February 2023 opened on 1 April 2023 and will close on 31 May 2023.  Submissions in respect of data files and declarations of the various reportable data types, are now due.

  As of this morning, we have received 35% of the expected submissions for this period.

  If you have already made your respective submissions, we thank you kindly for your voluntary compliance.

  You are encouraged to make your submissions ahead of the due date to avoid last minute challenges and potential delays that you may encounter.

  22 March 2023 – Third Party Data Annual Submissions: 01 April 2023 – 31 May 2023: OPEN

•  The SARS Third Party Data Annual Submissions process for the period 1 March 2022 – 28 February 2023 opens on 01 April 2023 and will close on 31 May 2023. Submissions in respect of data files and declarations of the various reportable data types as detailed in the table below are now due.

• 9 February 2023 – Business Requirement Specification for the implementation of the Submission of Section 18A receipts issued (IT3(d) project)

  The IT3(d) Business Requirement Specification (BRS) document has been published which sets out the manner in which S18A third party information should be submitted to SARS and in preparation for the early adopters phase in April 2023 (Postponed to a later date – see table below).

  Please feel free to send queries and comments regarding the BRS and implementation of the IT3(d) to [email protected]

• 28 November 2022 – IT3(t): Call for testers

Pursuant to the various engagements during recent months, kindly see the  finalised BRS in relation to the Trust data requirements – SARS External BRS 2022 IT3s v40.0T-9.

As per the discussions, you will be aware that it was indicated that the IT3(t) will follow an end-September submission date. This information will still be gazetted in due course.

Considering that the implementation and production of these changes are already scheduled for April 2023, we are calling for volunteers to assist with SARS during the testing phase, which is planned for March to April 2023. (Postponed to a later date – see table below).

Third Party Data Annual Submissions:

Please note that the above dates are guidelines to ensure a smooth submissions process:

• The Test environment is, and will remain, open throughout the submissions period, but during the trade testing window, we have allocated additional resources and support to ensure that testing that takes place during this window receives priority attention
• The Production environment is also open, and we encourage you to submit your 3^rd Party Data for the 2023 tax year as soon as you are ready. The final two weeks of the submissions period are always busy, and if you delay your submissions, you will experience delays in the processing of the submitted data.

Making your submission

Please follow the following five easy 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, 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 Trade 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. 

Important to note – procedural requirements

• You are urged to make use of the SARS Trade Test Platform prior to making your production submissions to ensure that your data submissions are validated. The functionality which previously allowed submission of Test files in the Live environment has been removed
• 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.
• We place great emphasis on receiving complete, correct and quality data submissions the first time around.
• In the event you are required to amend your submissions, please alert us of such as soon as possible and make the necessary corrections timeously
• Please make timely submissions as late or non-submissions may be liable for penalties.

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

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.