What’s New at SARS

17 July 2025 – Many taxpayers will visit the eFiling website during the opening of filing season. SARS wants to make their experience seamless.

To manage the surge in traffic, we have set up a virtual waiting room to keep eFiling stable.

What This Means for You

If eFiling is experiencing unusually high traffic when you log in:

• You may be temporarily placed in a virtual queue.
• You’ll see a message letting you know you’re in line, along with an estimated wait time.

• As soon as it’s your turn, you’ll be automatically redirected to the login page – no need to refresh or rejoin the queue.

Your tax matters, but so does your time. Thank you for your understanding – we can’t wait to welcome you!

16 July 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 upgrades are scheduled for Thursday, 17 July 2025 from 18:00 to 22:00.

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

Please be reminded that your Personal Income Tax submissions will be available from 21 July 2025. In the interim the auto assessment runs are still underway.

16 July 2025 – The North West mobile tax unit and tax workshop schedules for August 2025 are now available.

15 July 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 upgrades are scheduled for: Tuesday, 15 July 2025 from 22:00 – 23:00.

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

15 July 2025 – The July Issue of the Monthly Tax Digest is now available. In this issue we take a closer look at the 2025 Filing Season for Individuals.

15 July 2025 – SARS will participate in the Township Economic Development Expo, known as i-Kasi economies, from 15–16 July 2025 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. This event targets Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and offers growth and development opportunities.

The theme is “Connecting i-Kasi with Corporate — Empowering Township Industrialists.” The expo aims to:

• Integrate township businesses into regional and global value chains.
• Create pathways for township manufacturers to connect with corporate buyers and investors.
• Promote tax compliance among SMME taxpayers.

Attendees may visit the SARS stand to access various services and obtain assistance with eFiling.

14 July 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.

11 July 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication of rules amendments notices R6408 and R6409, as published in Government Gazette 52968 of 11 July 2025, relating to the following amendments:

Notice R6409

• Amendments to rules under sections 77H and 120 – Internal appeals (DAR261)

Notice R6408

• Amendments to rules under section 120 – Substitution of form DA 5 under item 202.00 of the Schedules to the rules (DAR262)

11 July 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notice R6410, as published in Government Gazette 52968 of 11 July 2025, are now available.

10 July 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 upgrades are scheduled for:

Friday, 11 July 2025 from 18h00 to 22h00.

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, 11 July 2025 @ 17:00.

10 July 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariffs 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 increase the rate of customs duty on wheat and wheaten flour from 54.95c/kg and 82.42c/kg, respectively to 85.15c/kg and 127.72c/kg, in terms of the existing variable tariff formula (ITAC Minute M05/2025).

Publication details will be made available later

10 July 2025 – An auto assessment, which is part of SARS’ commitment to make the fulfilment of your tax obligation as seamless as possible, is based on the data we receive from employers, financial institutions, medical schemes, retirement fund administrators, and other third-party data providers. We are sending the notices in batches between 7 and 20 July 2025.

Wait for your auto assessment notice through SMS or email:

• If you agree with your auto-assessment, there is nothing further to be done. If SARS owes you a refund, you will receive the money in your bank account within 72 hours.
• If you don’t agree, file your Income Tax return through eFiling or the MobiApp. No need to wait until 21 July 2025, you can do it immediately.

See more information on the How does Auto-Assessments work webpage or watch our short video: Discover how 2025 Auto-assessments will simplify your tax matters.

10 July 2025 – The new Filing Season is upon us. Get all the information you need to know in the 2025 Filing Season Overview Leaflet!

Stay updated with all the information, including auto assessments, educational videos and more, by keeping an eye on the Filing Season webpage.

#YourTaxMatters #FilingSeason2025

9 July 2025 – Tax Administration Act, 2011, and Superior Courts Act, 2013

• CSARS v Kajee and Others (D1514/2025) [2025] ZAKZDHC 39 (24 June 2025)

Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA) and Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013: Section 163 of the TAA – Preservation orders – Section 47 of the TAA – SARS audit powers – Section 21(2) of the Superior Courts Act – Jurisdiction over joined parties –  Preservation order – Reconsideration  application – Jurisdiction – SARS compliance investigation – Whether the provisional preservation order granted under section 163 of the TAA against Plus (Pty) Ltd and Dodo Africa (Pty) Ltd should be discharged, as requested in their reconsideration application.

9 July 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• SARSTC 2024/8 (IT) [2025] ZATC CPT (23 May 2025)

Whether or not the Commissioner for SARS provided an adequate response to the applicant’s request for reasons pertaining to why CSARS maintains that the arrangement occurred within a business context.

9 July 2025 – The Limpopo mobile tax unit schedules for July 2025 are now available.

9 July 2025 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Customs Clearance Declaration (CCD) have been updated to include details of the Allport Cargo Services (Pty) Ltd with code CG based at Cape Town International Airport.
This addition enables Customs to transmit electronic messages communicating the status of the consignment to these facilities.

SC-CF-19-A02 – Facilities Code List – External Annexure

9 July 2025 – The Western Cape, Free State and Northern Cape mobile tax unit schedules for July to October 2025 are now available.

8 July 2025 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) yesterday experienced higher than expected volumes which caused our systems to respond longer than expected. We recognise that some employers experienced delays in submitting their monthly EMP201’s and as a result we will consider not imposing penalties and interest in relation to employers who would otherwise have been compliant.

This process of payment is governed by paragraphs 2(1) and 14(2) of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, which provides for the payment of Pay-As-You-Earn, (PAYE) Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Skills Development Levy (SDL) and the submission of the EMP201 form within a period of 7 days after the end of the month during which the amounts that were withheld from remuneration paid to employees.

In terms of section 3 of the Income Tax Act, the Commissioner for SARS has the discretionary power to extend the respective due dates. In the exercise of that discretionary authority, SARS Commissioner has extended the due date for filing and payment to Monday, 14 July 2025.

Taxpayers are encouraged to submit their EMP201 returns before 14 July to avoid late penalties.

For information, please contact [email protected].

8 July 2025 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, and Tax Administration Act, 2011

• CSARS v African Bank Limited (242/2024) [2025] ZASCA 101 (8 July 2025)

Jurisdiction: Whether the jurisdiction of the tax court engaged in instances where the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service refuses to make a determination under s 17(1) of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (VAT Act) in the terms as sought by a taxpayer – whether such refusal constitutes a decision subject to objection and appeal procedure under the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 – interpretation of s 32(1)(a)(iv) of the VAT Act.