What’s New at SARS

17 July 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, 17 July 2026 from 21h00 to 23h00.

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

17 July 2026 – SARS has published a dedicated webpage, Implementation of Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) as part of the ongoing implementation of South Africa’s APA programme. The webpage provides an overview of the programme, its objectives, expected benefits, and the planned pilot approach. The APA programme aims to provide upfront tax certainty for qualifying cross-border related-party transactions.

SARS plans to start the pilot phase in 2026. Taxpayers and stakeholders are encouraged to visit the APA webpage for information on the programme and to stay informed about future developments as implementation progresses.

17 July 2026 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991

• Interpretation Note 31 (Issue 5) – Documentary proof required for the zero-rating of goods or services

17 July 2026 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991

• Interpretation Note 31 (Issue 4) – Documentary proof required for the zero-rating of goods or services

16 July 2026 – The Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list was updated.

• The following tariff headings do not require permits from the State Vet and Plant Inspector.
  • 3102.10
  • 3102.21
  • 3102.29
  • 3102.30
  • 3102.40
  • 3102.50
  • 3102.60
  • 3102.80
  • 0712.90.90

16 July 2026 – The Kwazulu-Natal mobile tax unit schedules for August 2026 are now available.

15 July 2026 – The North West mobile tax unit schedule for August 2026 is now available.

13 July 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.

13 July 2026 – SARS is aware that some taxpayers may be experiencing intermittent access to eFiling and the SARS MobiApp. Our teams are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

10 July 2026 — The South African Revenue Service (SARS) welcomes the sentencing of Mr André Claude Dickoumba-De-Diguela to 25 years direct imprisonment in a complex R62 million VAT fraud scheme. The sentencing marks a significant enforcement success and a clear warning that tax crimes will face prosecution.

Assistance Médicale Internationale CC, along with its sole member, Mr Claude Dickoumba-De-Diguela, entered into a guilty plea under a section 105A plea agreement. They admitted to 127 counts of fraud and 66 counts of money laundering related to fraudulent VAT refund claims that occurred over 12 years.

After the guilty plea, the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge sentenced Mr Dickoumba-De-Diguela to 15 years in prison for fraud, with five years suspended, and ten years for money laundering, resulting in a total sentence of 25 years.

The sentence follows the successful investigation and prosecution of fraudulent VAT refund claims that were systematically perpetrated over a dozen years, highlighting SARS’s determination to protect the integrity of the tax system and safeguard public revenue from abuse.

SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu described the sentencing as a victory in the fight against tax fraud, financial crime, and the abuse of the VAT system. The Commissioner said that this outcome shows the effectiveness of SARS’s investigative and enforcement capabilities, as well as the importance of collaboration with law-enforcement and prosecutorial authorities in bringing complex financial crimes to justice.

“Fraudulent VAT refund claims are not simple administrative errors,” the Commissioner said. “They are carefully calibrated acts of criminality that defraud the country’s revenue base, harm honest taxpayers, and deprive the government of the resources necessary to provide essential public services. Every rand lost to fraud is a rand that could have been used to support economic development, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and other vital services.”

The recent successful prosecution highlights SARS’s growing use of data-driven intelligence, advanced risk-detection systems, and strategic partnerships to identify suspicious activities and uncover complex tax crimes. Individuals who deliberately submit false information, inflate deductions, hide income, or attempt to obtain refunds they are not entitled to should understand that such actions will be prosecuted.

Commissioner Makhubu reiterated that “SARS is working very hard to foster a culture of voluntary compliance. Filing Season demonstrates this commitment in practical terms: taxpayers have better digital services, more prefilled information, and easier ways to meet their obligations. But simplicity for honest taxpayers must never be mistaken for weakness in the face of deliberate fraud. Those who fabricate VAT refunds, conceal the proceeds, and launder money threaten our country’s financial stability. SARS will follow the evidence and work with relevant authorities to ensure that deliberate non-compliance carries real consequences.”

The Commissioner also commended the collaboration between state institutions to bring the matter to finality. “Complex tax and financial-crime cases require strong investigative work, careful prosecution, and sustained inter-agency cooperation. Today’s legal success in this matter shows what we can achieve in the fight against the depravity and crime engulfing our country and state institutions.”

For further information, contact SARS at [email protected].

10 July 2026 – SARS will participate in Manufacturing Indaba 2026, one of Africa’s leading manufacturing and industrialisation platforms, from 14–15 July 2026 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Held under the theme “Made in Africa: Scaling Growth, Shaping Trade”, the Indaba will bring together government, industry, investors, exporters, and development partners to advance competitiveness, regional manufacturing, and trade.

SARS will engage manufacturers, exporters, SMMEs and value-chain participants on tax and customs obligations, digital services, trade facilitation, and voluntary compliance.

Why it matters

• Strengthens manufacturing competitiveness and industrialisation.
• Promotes regional trade and value-chain integration.
• Supports SMMEs, exporters and manufacturers with practical tax and customs guidance.

Event details

• Venue: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
• Time: 08:00–16:00
• Date: 14–15 July 2026

Registration: Free entry via the Manufacturing Indaba website.

SARS is encouraging SMMEs to access SARS support that enables growth, trade, and compliance.

10 July 2026 – In this July issue we look at the Auto Assessment process for the 2026 Filing Season.

10 July 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendments notice, R7690, as published in Government Gazette 54974 of 10 July 2026, are now available.

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

Up to and including 9 January 2027

• Imposition of provisional payment in the form of anti-dumping duty against the alleged dumping of ceramic and porcelain wall and floor tiles, excluding finishing ceramics, mosaic cubes and the like classifiable in tariff subheadings 6904.90, 6907.21, 6907.22 and 6907.40 originating in or imported from the Republic of India (India), the Republic of Mozambique (Mozambique), the Republic of Zambia (Zambia) and the Republic of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) (ITAC Report 782)

Publication details will be made available later

9 July 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:

Thursday, 09 July 2026 from 21h30 to 23h00.

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

7 July 2026 – The e@syFile™ Employer version 8.0.1_338 release notes specify the following changes:

• Enhancement made to Bulk Payment function to include bulk payments for ITA88’s.

See more detail in the release notes.

7 July 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962; Tax Administration Act, 2011

• SARSTC IT 76725; IT 76750; IT 76751; IT 76752; IT 76753; IT 76754; IT 76755 (IT) [2026] ZATC CPT (3 July 2026)

Whether the GAAR applies to the composite transaction. Two further questions arise:  1) The first is the appellants’ preliminary objection to the Commissioner’s pleading of the avoidance arrangement. 2) The second is the fate of the penalties and interest.

7 July 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for rules amendments notice R.7656, as published in Government Gazette 54939 of 3 July 2026, relating to invoice data and customs worksheet data (with effect from 3 July 2026), are now available.

7 July 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.

7 July 2026 – South African Sign Language (SASL) Interpreters will be available to assist you from 08:00 to 16:00 on the following dates:

• 24 July 2026
• 25 September 2026
• 14 August 2026
• 2 October 2026
• 11 September 2026
• 16 October 2026

At the following Service Centres:

• Durban CBD
• Pretoria CBD
• Newtown
• Bloemfontein
• Bellville
• Newcastle
• Rustenburg
• Klerksdorp
• Gqeberha
• Mthatha
• Mbombela

For more information, see our Tax & Disability webpage.

To see our Service Centres’ locations, click here.