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Excise

WHAT’S NEW?

  • 18 September 2026 – Webinar on the release of the Diesel Refund Registration Programme

    SARS held a webinar on Friday, 18 September 2026 for diesel-refund users, diesel sellers, fuel suppliers, contractors, intermediaries, and tax practitioners on the release of the Diesel Refund Registration Programme.

    Missed the webinar? Watch the SARS TV recording in your own time.

    See the presentation shared in the webinar here.

    The release is planned for 18 September 2026.  More detail will be shared soon.

    It introduces the Diesel User Dashboard capability and completes the end-to-end registration solution. The webinar will explain the changes, who is affected, and the steps stakeholders should take to prepare.

    Key Changes

    • Diesel Refund registration is moving from a VAT-linked model to a dedicated Diesel Refund Registration System on eFiling.
    • Existing diesel-refund users must register on the new solution. Registration is not automatic.
    • Diesel sellers must register so that diesel-refund users can create and manage seller relationships electronically.
    • A dedicated dashboard will provide visibility of applications, registrations, and seller relationships.

    What You Need to Do

    • Diesel-refund users/buyers: Prepare to register through eFiling; ensure your SARS legal-entity profile is valid and confirmed; gather business-activity information; and be ready to create seller relationships.
    • Diesel seller: Register as a diesel seller and ensure your details are accurate so users can establish and validate relationships with you.

    What the Webinar covered

    • The purpose and phased implementation of the Diesel Refund Registration Programme.
    • Registration requirements for diesel-refund users and diesel sellers.
    • How electronic diesel seller and user relationships work together.
    • Steps to prepare, including legal-entity profile readiness and required business information.
    • The dedicated dashboard, available support, and a live question-and-answer session.

  • 20 March 2026 – Budget 2026 Frequently Asked Questions

    Key changes on Fuel levies, Carbon Tax and Excise Duties from Budget 2026: FAQs on the Excise changes

WHAT IS IT?

Excise duties and levies are imposed mostly on high-volume daily consumable products (e.g. petroleum and alcohol and tobacco products) as well as certain non-essential or luxury items (e.g. electronic equipment and cosmetics).   The primary function of these duties and levies is to ensure a constant stream of revenue for the State, with a secondary function of discouraging consumption of certain harmful products; i.e. harmful to human health or to the environment.   The revenue generated by these duties and levies amount to approximately ten per cent of the total revenue received by SARS. 

WHO IS IT FOR?

Excise Duties are payable by manufacturers of the following products and are levied throughout the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), consisting of the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Namibia and the Kingdom of Swaziland:

Excise Levies/tax are/may be levied separately and uniquely on different products by each individual SACU member state; in South Africa currently on the following products: 

In addition to duties and levies, we also have the Diesel Refund System for qualifying entities.

WHAT STEPS MUST I TAKE?

Relevant entities in the RSA must license with SARS Excise before they start to manufacture or otherwise deal in any of these products on which the applicable Excise Duty and / or Levy has not yet been paid.    There are 14 Excise offices around the country. To see the list of offices and contact details, click here.

WHEN AND HOW SHOULD IT BE PAID?

These duties and levies are self-assessed by the client per periodic Excise return and, depending on the product, paid to SARS on either a monthly or quarterly basis.   To view the Excise Duty/Levy submission and dates for 2026/2027, click here.  

To access this page in different languages click on the links below:

Related Documents

SC-CF-64- Diesel Refund Registration – External Guide
SC-CF-42 – Customs Trader Portal for Registration, Licensing and Accreditation – External Guide
SC-CF-19-A05 – Registration and Licensing Application Types – External Annexure
SC-CF-19-A01 – Documentary Requirements – External Annexure
SC-CF-19 – Registration Licensing and Accreditation – External Policy
SC-CF-68 – Diesel Refund Relationship Management – External Guide
SC-CF-60 – Customs and Excise SOQS – External Guide
SC-CF-69 – Air Passenger Tax Registration Portal – External Guide
Legal-Pub-Guide-Gen02 – Guide for Tax Rates Duties Levies
SE-DSL-02 – Manage Diesel Refund Calculation – External Policy
SC-CO-01-02 – Offences and Penalties – External Policy
GEN-GEN-51-G01 – SARS Online Query System – External Guide
SE-GEN-02 – Accounting for Duty – External Policy
SE-PAY-02 – Prescribed Payment Rules – External Policy
SE-ACC-07- Manage eAccounts on eFiling – External Guide
SE-PEN-01-A01 – Penalty Guideline – External Annexure
SE-SB-02 – Health Promotion Levy on Sugary Beverages – External Policy
SE-SB-03 – Health Promotion Levy on Sugary Beverages – External Guide
SC-SE-05 – Bonds – External Policy
SE-PP-03 – Completion of DA 70 – External Guide
SE-REF-09 – DA90 Diplomatic and Other Foreign Representatives Fuel Refunds – External Guide
SR-04 – Key Industry Management Forum – External TOR
SE-ACC-08 – Declaration and Return Submission via eFiling – External Guide
SC-CA-02 – Internal Administrative Appeal – External Policy
DA 64 – Application for drawback or refund – External Form
DA 66 – General Application for drawback or refund – External Form
DA 63 – Application for refund – Export for trade purposes of imported duty paid goods (Refund item 522 03) – External Form
SC-CF-19-A03 – Exemption from Ad Valorem Excise Licence and Payment – External Annexure
SC-CF-19-A04 – Joint Ad Valorem Excise Licence – External Annexure
SE-ACC-05 – Submission of accounts returns – External Policy
SR-01-Stakeholder-Engagement-External-TOR-1
SE-GEN-04-G01 – Introduction to Excise Duties Levies and Air Passenger Tax – External Guide
DA 70 – Application to make Provisional Payment – External Form
DA 73 – Application for Special or Extra Attendance – External Form
DA 90 – Application for refund in respect of Excise Duty and Fuel Levy – External Form
DA 32 – Certificate for Removal of Excisable Specified Goods Ex Warehouse – External Form
DA 33 – Declaration Regarding Restricted Removal of Excisable Specified Goods Ex Warehouse – External Form
DA 33A – Removal of Excise Goods Ex Warehouse to Rebate User – External Form
SE-FS-25 – Tariff Determination – External Policy
SE-PP-02 – Provisional Payment – External Policy
SE-REF-02 – Refunds – External Policy
SE-REF-05 – Diplomatic fuel refunds – External Policy
SE-CON-02 – Clearance of movements – External Policy
SC-CF-26 – Application to Submit Cargo Reports – External Manual
SE-ACC-02-M01 – eFiling Registration – External Manual
SE-REF-03-M01 – Completion of DA66 – External Manual

Table of Contents

Last Updated:

  • 18/09/2026
  • 13:04
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