What’s New at SARS

16 March 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendments to rules under sections 39, 101A and 120 – Invoice data and customs worksheet data
  • SAD 509 – Customs declaration form (ZA only) Invoice and worksheet detail particulars
  • SAD 509.01 – Customs declaration form (za only) Invoice line item details – Continuation sheet

Due date for comment: 3 April 2026

13 March 2026 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will launch the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) on the SARS eFiling system with effect from 16 March 2026, as part of South Africa’s implementation of the Global Anti‑Base Erosion (GloBE) framework.

This milestone reflects South Africa’s continued commitment to international tax cooperation, the protection of the domestic tax base, and the fair and effective taxation of multinational enterprise (MNE) groups operating within the global economy.

From the launch date, affected taxpayers will be able to subscribe to and administer Global Minimum Tax obligations via SARS eFiling, in accordance with existing governance and access controls applicable to legal entities on the system.

Ensuring Readiness and System Integrity

SARS administers tax obligations through secure, role‑based access on eFiling to safeguard the integrity of taxpayer information and transactions. For legal entities, actions relating to registration, subscription and ongoing tax management are performed by duly authorised individuals acting on behalf of the entity – referred to as Registered Representatives (RR) .

To support a seamless rollout of the Global Minimum Tax, taxpayers are encouraged to confirm that their entity access and authorisation arrangements on eFiling are current and correctly reflected ahead of the 16 March 2026 go‑live date.

Failure to ensure appropriate access alignment may delay the ability to complete subscription processes once the GMT functionality becomes available.

Guidance and Support

SARS will publish an updated external guide once the system is live to assist taxpayers with GMT registration and related processes. In the interim, taxpayers may familiarise themselves with the applicable representative and governance requirements on the SARS website:

• Registered Representatives:
  https://www.sars.gov.za/client-segments/registered-representatives/
• Global Minimum Tax information hub:
  https://www.sars.gov.za/businesses-and-employers/large-business-and-international/global-minimum-tax/

Enquiries relating to Global Minimum Tax may be directed to:
[email protected]

SARS urges affected taxpayers to take proactive steps to prepare for the implementation of GMT, ensuring readiness for compliance from 16 March 2026.

13 March 2026 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued an updated version 6.903 Interface specification IBIR-006, due to budget speech changes.

Trade testing dates remain as communicated 2 March 2026 to 15 April 2026.

The final software implementation is planned for April 2026.

13 March 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendments notice R7219, as published in Government Gazette 54318 of 13 March 2026, are now available.

12 March 2026 – SARS is proud to support Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) at the Proudly SA Buy Local Summit & Expo 2026, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 16 to 17 March. Visit our booth at the Business Solutions Hub for expert tax advice, digital self-help tools, and tailored support.

Our team will assist with eFiling, Turnover Tax, and the whole value chain of compliance, enabling SMMEs to access procurement opportunities, funding, and sustainable growth.

We encourage entrepreneurs and stakeholders to engage with us and continue benefiting from support at Proudly South African events.

SARS remains committed to strengthening businesses and communities throughout South Africa through digital innovation and personalised assistance.

To join the Proudly SA Summit & Expo 2026, simply register on their official website.

12 March 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendments notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the amendments to –

• Part 2 of Schedule No. 4, by the insertion of rebate item 460.16/8414.60.20/01.08 in order to provide for a temporary rebate facility for the importation of cooker hoods of a domestic type having a maximum horizontal side not exceeding 120 cm, classifiable under tariff subheading 8414.60.20 (ITAC Report No. 746)

Publication details will be made available later

12 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:

Friday, 13 March 2026 from 18h00 to 21h00,

Saturday, 14 March 2026 from 01h00 to 03h00,

Sunday, 15 March 2026 from 09h00 to 13h00.

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

11 March 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendments to rules under section 64D – Licensing of remover of goods in bond

Due date for comment: 27 March 2026

10 March 2026 – In this issue we provide guidance on tax practitioner deregistration procedures and dispute reviews under the Tax Administration Act, alongside important updates to the Income Tax Act, including revised tables of interest rates on taxes and refunds, and resources such as Interpretation Note 143 for political party income tax exemption and the Turnover Tax Guide for micro businesses. We also highlight key announcements from the 2026 Budget Speech, which introduce significant tax relief for small and micro businesses, notably the increase in the compulsory VAT registration threshold and the turnover tax qualifying threshold from R1 million to R2.3 million, aimed at reducing compliance burdens, supporting business growth, and simplifying tax administration.

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