What’s New at SARS

7 August 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Advance Pricing Agreements – External Guide

To be read with the income tax notices published in relation to advance pricing agreements

7 August 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962

The following income tax notices were promulgated in Government Gazette 55152 of 7 August 2026:

• Notice 7792, published in terms of section 76P, prescribing the procedures and guidelines for the implementation and operation of the DTA advance pricing agreement system
• Notice 7791, published in terms of section 76J(3), prescribing the information to be contained in a preliminary DTA advance pricing agreement under that section
• Notice 7790, published in terms of section 76J(1), prescribing the requirements for processing an application for a DTA advance pricing agreement
• Notice 7789, published in terms of section 76I(b), prescribing the additional requirements that will lead to the rejection of an application for a DTA advance pricing agreement
• Notice 7787, published in terms of section 76D, prescribing the fees payable by an applicant in an application for a DTA advance pricing agreement
• Notice 7788, published in terms of section 76C, prescribing the persons eligible to apply to the Commissioner for a DTA advance pricing agreement

The notices to be read with the Advance Pricing Agreements – External Guide.

7 August 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

Draft amendments to rules under sections 64E and 120 – Accreditation

Due date for comment: 21 August 2026

7 August 2026 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) calls on schools registered under the South African Schools Act that are registered as VAT vendors to apply for cancellation of their VAT registration, following the legislative change in the VAT treatment of schools with effect from 1 January 2026.

From that date, all supplies made by schools are exempt from VAT, except to the extent that a school conducts qualifying welfare activities. Schools may therefore not charge VAT or deduct input tax on supplies made from 1 January 2026 and must correct any VAT returns already submitted for periods from that date where necessary.

Affected schools must complete the VAT123e – Application for the cancellation of registration form and indicate the reason for cancellation as: “All enterprise activities have ceased on 31 December 2025”. The completed form must be emailed to [email protected] with the subject line: VAT deregistration – Schools. Alternatively, schools may make a virtual appointment via the SARS eBooking system by selecting “Other” as the reason category and “VAT and PAYE registration/deregistration” as the reason for appointment.

Where exit VAT is payable, schools may submit a request for payment arrangements together with the VAT123e form. SARS will cancel the VAT registration once the exit VAT has been declared and paid, or after the school has complied with the payment arrangement that was agreed with SARS.

Schools that wish to remain registered as VAT vendors in respect of qualifying welfare activities must obtain written confirmation from the Commissioner by way of a ruling.

Further guidance is available on the SARS website in the:

• VAT Reference Guide – Schools Exiting the VAT System; and
• Schools Exiting the VAT System: Frequently Asked Questions

For further information, please contact [email protected].

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7 August 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication of rules amendments notice R7777 in Government Gazette 55151 of 7 August 2026, relating to the following:

• Amendments to rules under sections 54F, 64B, 64D, 64E, 64G and 120 – Miscellaneous amendments

6 August 2026 – The Western Cape mobile tax unit schedules for September 2026 are now available.

6 August 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Tax Guide for Share Owners (Issue 9)

6 August 2026 – The August 2026 issue covers key information that entities applying for Income Tax Exemption should be aware of. This includes selecting the correct “Nature of Entity” when registering for Income Tax, as well as selecting the correct Exempt Institution category when applying for Income Tax exemption. We also recap the requirements for Section 18A tax-deductible receipts and the submission of IT3(d) third-party data to SARS.

6 August 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendments notice, R7794, as published in Government Gazette 55153 of 6 August 2026, are now available.

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

• Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, by the substitution of tariff subheadings 1001.91 and 1001.99 as well as 1101.00.10, 1101.00.20, 1101.00.30 and 1101.00.90, to reduce the rate of customs duty on wheat and wheaten flour from 15.37c/kg and 23.05c/kg, respectively to free of duty, in terms of the existing variable tariff formula (ITAC Minute M05/2026)

Publication details will be made available later

5 August 2026 – The Eastern Cape mobile tax unit schedules for August to October 2026 are now available.

4 August 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendments to rules under sections 77ZH and 120 – Voluntary disclosure relief

Due date for comment: 25 August 2026

4 August 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Draft amendments to the following schedules:

• Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, to provide for technical amendments, by the insertion and deletion of various subheadings to provide for technical amendments for statistical purposes
• Part 1 of Schedule No. 3, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1
• Part 2 of Schedule No. 4, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 Schedule No. 1
• Part 3 of Schedule No. 5, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1

Due date for comment: 18 August 2026

3 August 2026 – SARS reviews its Service Charter to keep service commitments measurable and relevant to taxpayers’ needs. The review focuses on committed service-level metrics and is informed by data and lessons from monitoring service performance. In support of SARS Strategic Objective 5, “Increase the use of data to improve integrity, derive insight, and improve outcomes”, SARS has assessed areas where performance has consistently exceeded expectations, as well as areas where service levels have been difficult to meet.

The reviewed Service Charter is effective from 1 April 2026.

Central to this revision is the ethos of SARS at Your Service. As SARS works toward the long-term goal that “the best service is no service, tax just happens”, the organisation remains focused on getting the basics right through high-quality service, professionalism, ethical conduct, technical excellence, strong stakeholder relationships, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making. In line with the goal to improve efficiency and effectiveness, selected service metrics have been reviewed across the categories of engagements, registrations, refunds, payments, Complaints Management Office (CMO), and the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO). Taxpayers’ rights and obligations have also been reviewed as part of SARS’s commitment to creating a safe, fair, and service-oriented environment for all.

3 August 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.

See the latest Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods here.

31 July 2026 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Draft amendments to Schedules

• Explanatory Memorandum – Elaborates on specific changes included in the amendment of the Schedules to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964.
• Draft amendment to Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1
• Draft amendment to Part 2A of Schedule No. 1, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1
• Draft amendment to Part 5A of Schedule No. 1, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, in order to implement HS 2022
• Draft amendment to Part 5B of Schedule No. 1, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1
• Draft amendment to Part 1D of Schedule No. 6, to as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1
• Draft amendment in Part 1F of Schedule No. 6, to as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1
• Correlation table

Due date for comment: 29 August 2026

31 July 2026 – South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R17.8 billion in June 2026. This surplus was attributable to exports of R193.6 billion and imports of R175.8 billion, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN).

See the full Media Release here.

Or visit the Trade Statistics webpage.

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

• Tariff heading 3402.90 is subject to detention by PHO.
• Tariff heading 0406.10 is subject to detention by State Vet, PHO, and the Border Management Authority (BMA).
• Tariff heading 3202.90 is subject to detention by PHO.
• Tariff heading 0801.12.10 must be detained for Port Health Officer (PHO) and the Border Management Authority (BMA) Plant Inspection unit. A permit issued by the Directorate: Food Import and Export Standards (DFIES) is also required.

30 July 2026 – National Legislation: Publication of 2026 draft bills and explanatory memoranda

• Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2026
  • Draft Explanatory Memorandum on the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2026
• Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill 2026
  • Draft Memorandum on the Objects of the TALAB 2026

Due date for comment: 28 August 2026

29 July 2026 — The South African Revenue Service (SARS), working with the South African Police Service (SAPS) DPCI Serious Commercial Crime Investigations, has dealt a major blow to the illicit alcohol trade. SARS descended on a warehouse in Kempton Park, Gauteng, as part of its intensified crackdown on the illicit economy.

In a targeted enforcement operation on Wednesday, 29 July, SARS, along with SAPS, raided premises identified as a storage facility for imported ethanol (96% alcohol). The raid occurred as a consignment of the imported product was being delivered into the warehouse after having been declared to be destined for a country further north into Africa.

The consignment was imported by sea and declared to be in-transit and should have been removed directly through one of the Ports of Exit out of South Africa. The consignment, identified as one of four, is 26 000 litres of ethanol with an alcohol content of approximately 96%. It is the base product used to produce liquor products and generally attracts a duty-rate of R302.84/litre on the legitimate market. The duties and taxes due to SARS would have been around R9.1 million just for one consignment.

The joint team discovered the consignment being off-loaded at an unlicensed and unregistered facility into 1 000-litre flow-bins. The facility also had several other flow-bins on site and storage tanks, the contents of which must be tested, but which is suspected to contain a further 28 000 litres of ethanol.

This successful enforcement action is part of the broad SARS’s strategy to deal with the illicit economy that is having a devastating effect on the industry. The coordinated actions demonstrate SARS’s commitment to its strategic objective of making non-compliance hard and costly. SARS will continue to target the criminal syndicates involved in the illicit alcohol and liquor sectors. These syndicates exploit tax differentials by illegally diverting products and manufacturing illicit liquor.

Such schemes rob the fiscus of billions in revenue each year; illicit alcohol alone costs billions of rands in lost taxes annually. Beyond the revenue loss, the illicit alcohol trade undermines fair competition, as legitimate businesses cannot match the artificially low prices of untaxed liquor products. Illicit alcohol poses risks to consumers through substandard liquor quality.

SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu expressed his satisfaction with the operation’s success. He noted that this enforcement action is part of the government’s broader efforts to combat illicit economic activities and enhance compliance in critical sectors. “This initiative also aligns with SARS’s strategic goal of making non-compliance hard and costly through intelligence-led interventions aimed at customs fraud, excise-duty evasion, smuggling, and illegal trade”.

The illicit alcohol trade is not a victimless crime; it deprives our country of essential revenue needed for public services, undermines compliant businesses, and enriches criminal networks operating outside the law.

The Commissioner added that the operation demonstrates the value of coordinated enforcement between SARS, SAPS, and other government partners. “We will continue to strengthen our intelligence, customs, and investigative capabilities to detect diversion schemes, disrupt illicit trade, and ensure that those who seek to evade their tax and customs obligations are held accountable”.

SARS is committed to working with law-enforcement and regulatory partners to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit trade networks. “Those involved in customs fraud, excise-duty evasion, and other forms of illicit economic activity are put on notice”, the Commissioner said. “We will not surrender the destiny of this country to criminals or tolerate brazen alcohol smuggling and tax evasion. I commend the collective enforcement and teamwork by SARS, SAPS, and our other partners for their dedication and swift action”.

For further information, please contact [email protected].

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