What’s New at SARS

29 August 2025 – 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, 29 August 2025 from 18h00 to 01h00, Saturday 30 August 2025,

Saturday, 30 August 2025 from 22h00 to 02h00, Sunday 31 August 2025,

Sunday, 31 August 2025 from 17h00 to 20h30.

During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling, Tax and Customs Digital Platforms.
Responses (CUSRES messages) to transactions submitted during this time will be delayed, however, arrival and exit management functions are available at land border posts for all released declarations and manifests.
Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Friday, 29 August 2025 @ 16h00.

29 August 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notice R6550, as published in Government Gazette 53241 of 29 August 2025, are now available.

28 August 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariffs 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 460.06/1511.90.90/01.08 in order to provide for a temporary rebate provision on palm oil, not fractioned, refined, bleached and deodorised, but not chemically modified, for use in the manufacture of soap and organic surface-active products and preparations, in the form of bars, cakes, moulded pieces or shapes, classifiable in tariff subheading 3401.1  (ITAC Report No. 738).

Publication details will be made available later

27 August 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Draft Interpretation Note 64 (Issue 5) – Income tax exemption: Bodies corporate, share block companies, and associations of persons managing the collective interests common to all members

Due date for comment: 10 October 2025

27 August 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 44 (Issue 4) – Capital gains tax: Public benefit organisations

27 August 2025 – Skills Development Levies Act, 1999

• Interpretation Note 10 (Issue 5) – Skills development levy exemption: Public benefit organisations

27 August 2025 – Interpretation Notes

• Interpretation Note 44 (Issue 3) – Public benefit organisations: Capital gains tax
• Interpretation Note 10 (Issue 4) – Skills development levy exemption: Public benefit organisations

27 August 2025 –  In pursuing SARS’s strategic objective to work with and through stakeholders to improve tax ecosystem, Commissioner Kieswetter and his team held a consultative meeting with the Recognised Controlling Body Forum. This is a platform for strategic engagement between SARS and Recognised Controlling Bodies (RCBs). SARS sees this engagement crucial to its Higher Purpose: to help build a capable state and uplift South Africans.

The leadership of RCBs comprises the South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT); South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA); South African Institute of Public Accountants (SAIPA); Institute of Accounting and Commerce (IAC); Chartered Institute of Business Accountants (CIBA); Legal Practice Council (LPC); Chartered Government Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA); Financial Planning Institute (FPI);  Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA); and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

The role and authority of RCBs are derived in law, especially in Chapter 18 of the Tax Administration Act. RCBs must strictly oversee the conduct of their tax practitioners to uphold trust and the integrity of the tax system. “As we expect of ourselves, and our own employees, the conduct of Tax Practitioners, must be irreproachable” said Commissioner Kieswetter. Tax practitioners are vital enablers of South Africa’s fiscal system and fiscal citizenship. In guiding taxpayers, they are also central to SARS’s strategic intent to promote voluntary compliance. As an ambassador for tax compliance, tax practitioners’ personal tax affairs must be compliant.

SARS and RCBs exchanged frank and robust conversations on crucial matters affecting them. They agreed that SARS must provide practitioners with clarity and certainty of their obligations, and make it easy for them to comply, especially when it comes to their registration to practice, as well as their ongoing renewal verification. SARS encouraged RCBs to obtain their members’ consent for compliance-status sharing.

The meeting reaffirmed the critical role of SARS, and in this regard, the contribution of the profession, for the fulfilment of the organisations mandate to collect all revenue due, ensure optimal compliance with tax and customs legislation, protecting our borders, and facilitating legitimate trade. As co-regulators of tax practitioners and intermediaries in tax and customs, RCBs have a responsibility not only to comply with tax and customs laws themselves, but also to help their members who are practitioners, and the taxpayers whom they serve, to comply. And to do so without fear or favour in a manner that remains professional, and ethical.

On the Way Forward

This strategic partnership between SARS and RCBs, to improve compliance levels and raise revenue, especially from outstanding returns and debt already due. The success of this partnership ensures an equitable tax system where more taxpayers pay what is expected in law, instead of the burden being carried on by those who are complaint.  The Commissioner called on RCBs’ Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to work with SARS and assist to regularise the tax affairs of their members and clients.

SARS and the RCBs agreed to explore ways in which the debt owed to the fiscus can be expeditiously collected within the provisions of the Tax Administration Act. To this end SARS has committed to expedite its processes to allow for collection of debt due.

The Commissioner appealed that the RCBs must assist to ensure that voluntary tax compliance is a standing boardroom agenda item.

To strengthen ongoing collaboration, SARS & the RCB’s agreed to:

• Institute annual/bi-annual strategic engagements between the Commissioner and RCB CEOs.
• Reorient the Operational Forum to champion operational issues.
• Establish a Legal & Policy Committee to tackle legislative matters.
• Set up a technical committee to resolve system and data limitations.

For specific segments, SARS will re-establish a forum with its Large Business & International and High Wealth Individual segments. Regionally, SARS will re-orient the Regional Committees to deal with daily operational issues.

SARS will also refine the Tax Practitioner Service Offering Model and engage with RCBs in its Modernisation Programme.

Commissioner Kieswetter thanked the RCBs for their key role in helping the country mobilise resources to meet national challenges. He said that “both parties emphasised the importance of constructive engagement on the challenges that they face; continued collaboration; and open communication channels to foster a robust tax and customs environment. It is critical that we deepen voluntary compliance with concomitant benefit of fostering fiscal citizenship, moral and ethical conduct of the RCBs, tax practitioners and taxpayers”. Concluding, the Commissioner said, “SARS’ collection of more than R23.3 trillion since its inception, is in no small measure because of the crucial role played by the RCB’s”.

The RCB CEOs welcomed the engagement. They embraced the spirit of a productive partnership towards voluntary compliance. SAIPA’s representative Ms Tia van der Sandt, expressed her appreciation for “the opportunity to strengthen the relationship with SARS on behalf of our tax practitioners. We believe that we are collectively responsible for building our beautiful country. Ms Sesana of SAIT said her organisation “values collaboration with SARS highly because it is a bedrock of fiscal citizenship that is a cornerstone of a successful country”, and that “for SAIT, as the largest RCB, visiting the SARS Command Centre and seeing how AI and real time data is being leveraged to move the country forward was both eye opening and inspiring.” IACSA CEO, Mr Prakash Singh complimented “the healthy discussion on relevant topics that affects the greater of South Africa”. whilst the CEO of CIBA, Mr Nicholas van Wyk expressed his admiration and “was blown away by the level of SARS’s sophistication in monitoring its operations real time”. He believes “this sets a world-class standard of excellence, including in South Africa”, and appreciated SARS engagement with the RCBs and tax practitioners for viewing them “as strategic partners in mobilising resources for the country”.

This productive engagement has strengthened the relationship between SARS and the RCBs, with Commissioner Kieswetter making a clear point that “In order for us to work in a true partnership with the Registered Controlling Bodies, and their members who act as advisors and intermediaries for taxpayers, we must hold the profession to the same high standards of accountability, both legally and morally”.

For further information, please contact [email protected].

27 August 2025 – 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, 29 August 2025 from 18h00 to 01h00, Saturday 30 August 2025, 

Saturday, 30 August 2025 from 22h00 to 02h00, Sunday 31 August 2025, 

Sunday, 31 August 2025 from 17h00 to 20h30.

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

Responses (CUSRES messages) to transactions submitted during this time will be delayed, however, arrival and exit management functions are available at land border posts for all released declarations and manifests.

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Friday, 29 August 2025 @ 16h00.

27 August 2025 – The Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list has been updated.

Amendments were made for Non-Proliferation Council.

27 August 2025 – The Limpopo mobile tax unit schedules for September 2025 are now available.

26 August 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Guide to Section 18A Approval for Specific United Nations Entities

26 August 2025 – Guides

• Taxation in South Africa 2025
• Tax Guide for Small Businesses (2024/2025)

26 August 2025 – 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.

25 August 2025 – SARS implemented enhanced biometric facial authentication for:

• VAT and PAYE product registrations on eFiling that may require secure identity verification
• Updating Security Contact Details for taxpayers who cannot receive a One-Time Pin (OTP).

These features protect taxpayer identities, reduce fraud, and ensure secure access to SARS digital services. To use facial authentication, a taxpayer should:

• Have a camera-enabled device.
• Follow the on-screen facial positioning instructions.
• Complete the registration or update Security Contact Details after successful biometric authentication.

If biometric verification fails in respect of VAT and/or PAYE registrations, SARS will automatically create a verification case and may request supporting documents. Taxpayers without access to a camera-enabled device can make an appointment at a SARS service centre for assistance.

See the updated guides for more information:

• • GEN-ELEC-18-G01 – How to Register for eFiling and Manage Your User Profile – External Guide
  • IT-AE-47-G01 – How to register for the use of the SARS MobiApp – External Guide

22 August 2025: Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• CSARS v Glencore International AG (A138/2023; 34490/2021) [2025] ZAGPPHC (5 August 2025)

Whether the Court a quo erred or misdirected itself when making the findings that it did and whether, as a result thereof, this Court (sitting as a court of appeal) is entitled to interfere with those findings.

22 August 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 139 – Taxation of amounts received by or accrued to missionaries

22 August 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendments to rules under sections 17 and 120 – State warehouse rent

Due date for comment: 5 September 2025

22 August 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication of rules amendments notice R6525, as published in Government Gazette 53208 of 22 August 2025, relating to accredited client status (DAR263) (with effect from 1 September 2025)

21 August 2025 – August marks a significant period in the tax calendar. With Individual Filing Season under way, taxpayers are reminded that submissions for the first period of Provisional Tax Returns and Payments (IRP6) are due by 31 August. In this August issue, we review key discussions from the 12^th Annual Tax Indaba regarding the responsibilities of tax practitioners and emphasise the importance of clearly defining the scope of services provided. Please also note recent updates to the SARS Online Query System (SOQS).