What’s New at SARS

28 April 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Draft Amendment to Forms –

• Substitution of forms –
  • DA 185.4B1 – Licensing Client Type 4B1 – Special Manufacturing Warehouse; and
  • DA 260 –  Traditional African Beer and Alcohol Powder Products (SVM) – Special Manufacturing Warehouse

Due date for public comment: 13 May 2022

28 April 2022 – The BRS V21.1 has been updated with a new source code for Long Service Cash Awards and amended validation rules for source codes 3231, 3232, 3234, 7004 and the descriptions for source codes 3601, 3605, 3835, 4587, 7002.

26 April 2022 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods

25 April 2022 – SARS is committed to modernising its service offering to taxpayers and has introduced changes to its systems and processes.

Please note that from today 25 April 2022, SARS will no longer accept manually filed Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) disputes and penalty remission requests. The PAYE request for remission or dispute process for Administrative penalties is now available on the existing eFiling platform. Employers can now dispute late payment penalties and administrative penalties online.

Click here to view the guide.

25 April 2022 – How to view submitted third party data returns or data files via eFiling – External-Guide

• 25 April 2022 – Legislative changes to the Tax Directives process have been implemented. The following information is important for Fund Administrators, Insurers, Tax Practitioners, Advisors and taxpayers.
  • Taxpayers who are members of a pension preservation or provident preservation fund, who have reached retirement age and are 55 years and older are now allowed to transfer the retirement benefit to another preservation fund or a retirement annuity fund tax neutral on a Form A&D – reason Transfer before Retirement [par 2(1)(c)]
  • Taxpayers can now, on retirement, elect to use two thirds (⅔) or more of the total value of the retirement interest in the fund to provide a pension and / or annuity or purchase a living annuity and / or a guaranteed annuity from an Insurer. Alternatively, they can elect to keep a portion of the retirement interest in the fund which will provide a pension and / or annuity and use a portion to purchase a living annuity and / or a guaranteed annuity from an Insurer. However, it is important to note that the condition placed on a purchase of an annuity is that the value of each annuity (living and / or guaranteed and / or remaining in the fund) must be R165 000 and above, respectively.
  • A new reason has been added on the IRP3a to cater for foreign companies that are not registered for Pay As You Earn to make severance payments to South African tax residents who have performed work within the Republic for the said company. When the employer pays the employee, the tax practitioner or SARS will select reason <Severance benefit – Paid by a non-resident Employer>
    • When the taxpayer/Tax Practitioner completes the return, a new field will be added on the ITR12 to cater for payments made by foreign entities. The taxpayer/Tax practitioner must select <Y>
    • This will open a container whereby <new source code 3925) will be generated to capture the amount of the severance benefit received and the Tax Directive number which would have been issued for this purpose.

Click here to access the updated guide.

25 April 2022- The Western Cape schedules for Mobile Tax Units have been published.

22 April 2022 – Import permit from ITAC is no longer required for Tariff 4903.00.

For more information, please see the following webpage: Prohibited, restricted and counterfeit goods.

22 April 2022 – National Legislation: Revised Draft Bill

• Revised Draft Bill – 2022 Draft Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill (2022 Draft Rates Bill)

20 April 2022 – Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) please note the changes stated in the Tax Directives Interface Specification (IBIR-006 Rev 6.303) will go-live on 25 April 2022.  No Directive files should be submitted after 15:00 on 22 April 2022.  Applications can be submitted from 25 April 2022.

19 April 2022 – SARS anti-fraud leaflet: Protect your profile

19 April 2022 – Updated document: Registration Licensing and Designation – External Policy

The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Customs Clearance Declaration (CCD) have been updated to include the licensing of a new container depot in Cape Town. If the applicable facility codes listed in SC-CF-19-A02 is not inserted in Box 30 on the CCD, Customs will not be able to transmit electronic messages to the licensed facility in terms of the status of the consignment and the CCD will be rejected.

19 April 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendment notice R2030, as published in Government Gazette 46248 on 19 April 2022, are now available

18 April 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendment notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the amendments to –

• Part 1 of Schedule No. 2, in order to amend the anti-dumping duties imposed on the species, Gallus Domesticus, originating in or imported from the Netherlands, in order to include Pluimveeslachterij C van Miert BV, Pluimveeslachterij Mieki Hunsel BV and Frisia Foods  BV on the list of companies exempted from paying the duties  – Minute 13/2022 addendum to ITAC Report 666 (with retrospective effect from 23 August 2021).

Publication details will be made available later

14 April 2022 – New scam:  SARS eFiling notification

14 April 2022 – RFP50/2021: Provision of Fleet Management Services for a Period of Five (5) Years

14 April 2022 – SARS wishes to clarify the process to deal with the licensed warehousing for the marking of imported unmarked illuminating kerosene / specified aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents (AHS). See our letter to Trade here.

14 April 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendment notices R2010, R2011 and R2012, as published in Government Gazette 46224 on 14 April 2022, are now available

13 April 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendment notices, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relate to the amendments to –

• Part 3F of Schedule No. 1, by an increase of 7.5 per cent in the rate of environmental levy on carbon dioxide equivalent from R134 to R144 per tonne, to give effect to the Budget proposals announced by the Minister of Finance on 23 February 2022 (with retrospective effect from 1 January 2022);
• Part 5A of Schedule No. 1, by the increase of R1.50 per litre of the general fuel levy for petrol from R2.35/l to R3.85/l and for diesel from R2.20/l to R3.70/l, as announced by the Minister of Finance on 31 March 2022 (with effect from 1 June  2022 ); and
• Part 3 of Schedule No. 6, as a consequence to the increase in the general fuel levy, as announced by the Minister of Finance on 31 March 2022; the diesel refund provisions are adjusted accordingly (with effect from 1 June 2022).

Publication details will be made available later

13 April 2022 – The SARS Pinetown office will be closed on Thursday, 14 April 2022. All virtual appointments will be honoured. Our apologies for the inconvenience.