What’s New at SARS

9 March 2026 – The state provides state warehouses for the safekeeping of goods. These are managed by Customs. The purpose of this list of unentered goods is to notify the importer, exporter and any other person that has interest in the goods that the goods have been taken up into the State warehouse and if they remain unentered they will be disposed in accordance with the provisions of the Customs & Excise Act.

6 March 2026 – Income Tax Act 58, 1962, and Tax Administration Act, 2011

• CSARS v Erasmus (864/2024) [2026] ZASCA 22 (05 March 2026)

Tax Law – general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) under Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (ITA) – appeal against GAAR assessment – statement of grounds for opposing appeal (rule 31 statement) in terms of rule 31 of rules promulgated under Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA rules) – modification and amendment of GAAR assessment in rule 31 statement – irregular step application under uniform rule 30 by taxpayer in respect of rule 31 statement – whether modification and amendment authorised under section 80J(4) of ITA or TAA rule 31(3).

6 March 2026 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1962

• Democratic Alliance v Minister of Finance and Others (2025/045530) [2026] ZAWCHC 102 (5 March 2026)

Constitutional Law – Section 7(4) of the VAT Act 89 of 1991 – impermissible delegation of legislative power to the Minister – Section 7(4) authorising the executive to determine rate of tax that applies across the economy – delegated power not accompanied by express statutory criteria governing the magnitude of the alteration, nor requiring parliament’s ratification within a defined short period after its exercise – No sufficiently defined statutory
limits or mechanisms of prompt legislative control to ensure that the balance between executive agility and parliamentary supremacy is maintained – section 7(4) declared unconstitutional and invalid as it constitutes an impermissible delegation of legislative power to the executive.

6 March 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Tholo Energy Services CC v CSARS (CCT 252/24) [2026] ZACC 1 (16 January 2026)

Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 – section 47(9)(e) – nature and scope of tariff appeals – what constitutes a determination for purposes of appeal.

6 March 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• SARSTC IT 77034 (IT) [2025] ZATC JHB (13 January 2026)

Application for condonation and to strike out

6 March 2026 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991

• SARSTC VAT 32679 (VAT) [2025] ZATC CPT (18 December 2025)

Date of VAT liability – whether the appellant is liable for the late payment penalties.

6 March 2026 – Achieving our Vision 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 maintenance is scheduled for:

Saturday, 07 March 2026 from 22h00 to 00h00,

Sunday, 08 March 2026 from 09h00 to 17h00.

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

6 March 2026 – SARS has added J.P. Morgan Bank to the eFiling list of banks, enabling taxpayers who bank with J.P. Morgan to make tax payments via eFiling using the Credit Push Payment option.

The SARS Payment Rules guide has also been updated to include J.P. Morgan as an eFiling payment participant with effect from 1 March 2026 and to remove HSBC and Sasfin Bank which have ceased operations in the country. Details regarding the payment of Personal Income Tax and Travellers’ payments using the SARS MobiApp have been included in the guide – GEN-PAYM-01-G01 – SARS Payment Rules – External Guide.

For more information, visit eFiling Payments (Credit Push).

6 March 2026 – On 1 March 2026, South Africa implemented the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which is a global standard developed by the OECD to strengthen tax transparency in the crypto asset environment.

The CARF requires Crypto Asset Service Providers to report certain crypto asset transaction information to SARS. This data may also be exchanged with other participating jurisdictions to support international tax compliance.

The framework closes a critical transparency gap created by the rapid growth of crypto assets, bringing crypto activity into line with existing international tax reporting standards.

Individual taxpayers do not report directly under the CARF and must continue declaring crypto asset transactions through their normal income tax returns.

For service providers, the CARF provides clarity, consistency and a level playing field. For the tax system, it strengthens fairness, early risk detection and voluntary compliance.

The CARF marks an important step towards a modern, transparent and globally aligned tax system.

For more information, visit Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF)

5 March 2026 – The following Frequently Asked Questions have been published:

• SARS FAQs on Common Reporting Standard
• SARS FAQs on Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework Regulations

4 March 2026 – The Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list has been updated.

• The following tariff headings need an ITAC Import Permit:
  • 2710.19.07
  • 2710.19.09
  • 2710.19.15
  • 2710.19.26
  • 2710.19.30
  • 2710.19.35
  • 2710.19.37
  • 2710.19.39
  • 2710.19.45
  • 2710.19.47
  • 2710.19.49
  • 2710.19.52
  • 2710.19.55
  • 2710.19.57
  • 2710.19.60
  • 2710.19.70
  • 2710.19.80
  • 2710.19.90

3 March 2026 – In this issue we introduce Tax Practitioners to the new online application system for Income Tax Exempt Institutions, which is available from 2 March 2026 on eFiling and at all SARS branch offices nationally.

3 March 2026 – In this issue we look at the new online application system for Income Tax Exempt Institutions. This digital system aligns with SARS’s strategic objective to simplify taxpayer compliance through digital platforms. The online system is available from 2 March 2026 on eFiling and at all SARS branch offices nationally.

2 March 2026 – Supreme Court of Appeal Judgments

• CSARS v Mining Pressure Systems (Pty) Ltd (565/2023) [2026] ZASCA 21 (27 February 2026)
• Lutzkie v CSARS (1135/2023) [2026] ZASCA 11 (06 February 2026)

Summaries are available on the Supreme Court of Appeal judgments page

2 March 2026 – The state provides state warehouses for the safekeeping of goods. These are managed by Customs. The purpose of this list of unentered goods is to notify the importer, exporter and any other person that has interest in the goods that the goods have been taken up into the State warehouse and if they remain unentered they will be disposed in accordance with the provisions of the Customs & Excise Act.

27 February 2026 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Goods Declaration have been updated to include details of the de-grouping depot for Linex Air Services (Pty) Ltd, located in Oliver Reginald Tambo International Airport (ORTIA).

This addition enables Customs to transmit electronic messages communicating the status of the consignment to these facilities.

SC-CF-19-A02 – Facilities Code List – External Annexure

27 February 2026 – In addition to the existing Income Tax registration channels, individuals may register for Personal Income Tax by submitting an online registration request via the SARS Online Query System (SOQS). The SOQS Guide has been updated to include the ‘Register for Income Tax’ service.

GEN-GEN-51-G01 – SARS Online Query System – External Guide

Register for Personal Income Tax here.

27 February 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962: Publication details for income tax notices 7174, 7175, and 7182, as published in Government Gazette 54218 of 27 February 2026 are now available.

These notices relate to –

• determination of the daily amount in respect of meals and incidental costs for purposes of section 8(1)(a)(ii) (daily allowance) (Notice 7175);
• determination of the daily amount in respect of meals and incidental costs for purposes of section 8(1)(c)(ii) (overnight allowance) (Notice 7174); and
• fixing the rate per kilometre in respect of motor vehicles – section 8(1)(b)(ii) and (iii) (Notice 7182).

27 February 2026 – South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R9.3 billion in January 2026. This surplus was attributable to exports of R155.8 billion and imports of R146.5 billion, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN).

See the full Media Release here.

Or visit the Trade Statistics webpage.

25 February 2026 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Goods Declaration has been updated to include details of the container depot for Independent Warehousing Solutions (Pty) Ltd, located in Port Elizabeth.

This addition enables Customs to transmit electronic messages communicating the status of the consignment to these facilities.

SC-CF-19-A02 – Facilities Code List – External Annexure