What’s New at SARS

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).

21 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 upgrades are scheduled for:

Saturday, 23 August 2025 from 22h00 to 02h00, Sunday 24 August 2025.

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

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

• Tariff 0106.33.10 needs to be detained for State Vet.

19 August 2025 – A reminder to keep an eye on the Filing Season 2025 webpage as we are publishing useful information from time-to-time.

These short and easy-to-read leaflets will help on a variety of topics:

• Everything you need to know about Filing Season 2025
• Do I need to submit a return?
• Get these self-help services via your mobile device
• Auto-assessment
• Why Was I Not Auto Assessed?
• How to update your personal details
• How to update your banking details
• Updating Security Contact Details
• Bring your own device
• Save a Trip and Skip the Queue
• How to register on SARS eFiling
• Notice of registration
• How to navigate the ITR12 wizard
• Late-filing penalties
• How to pay SARS debt on eFiling
• How to link your company to your personal SARS eFiling profile
• How to Claim Tax Credits for Disability-related Medical Expenses
• Travel Allowance
• Personal Income Tax Fraud

19 August 2025 – The following updates apply to the completion of ITR12 returns:

• Antedated salary/pension – From the 2025 year of assessment onward, if source code 3623/3673 (for ‘antedated salary/pension’ paid for past years of assessment) is completed in the income section of the IRP5 certificate, the directive number will be mandatory.
• Exempt Local Dividends – Source code 4306 will only display next to the  ‘Exempt Local Dividends’ field from the 2025 year of assessment onwards
• Exempt Foreign Dividends – Source code 4307 will only display next to the  ‘Exempt Foreign Dividends’ field from the 2025 year of assessment onwards
• Capital Gains Tax – if a taxpayer is in a partnership and there was a disposal of partnership assets during the year of assessment,  the taxpayer is only required to declare his/her own portion of the proceeds and base cost on the ITR12 return  tax return.
• Return Type for Foreign Nationals – On 26 July 2025, a system change was implemented to issue a ‘resident’ ITR12 by default to all taxpayers classified as foreign nationals. If a foreign national requires a “non-resident” ITR12 return to be issued, the Non-resident Tax Return Type icon on the SARS Online Query System (SOQS) function must be used to request SARS to issue the correct return type for completion.

See the updated IT-AE-36-G05 – Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 Income Tax Return for Individuals – External Guide for more information.

19 August 2025 – The latest scam is an email from an address similar to what SARS is using for eFiling notifications i.e. [email protected]. The subject line of the email is ‘PROCESS QUOTE LETTER’ and it asks the recipient to ‘Please kindly process sars letter for attention’ linking to a fraudulent website. Please don’t click on the link, it’s a phishing website asking for your personal details.

If unsure, always hover over the link as in the image below to see whether it’s a strange website name. Or, if in doubt, look at our Scams webpage with the latest examples and what to do if you receive a suspicious email.

Example of the latest scam:

18 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.

18 August 2025 – The PRN is required when a payment is made to SARS by EFT or at a bank. The PRN enables a taxpayer to designate exactly what is being paid/settled, i.e. the specific period and/or tax type and enables SARS to automatically allocate a payment to the correct tax type and period. A PRN must be 19-digits long.

The PRN for Income Tax starts with your tax reference number then a ‘T’ and eight zeros, e.g.  1234567899T00000000. Top Tip: You don’t need to use a SARS bank account number to make payment, you can simply select from a standard drop-down of pre-loaded beneficiary IDs provided by the bank on your Internet banking. If you are making payment at a bank branch, the teller should select the SARS preloaded beneficiary. For Personal Income Tax, the SARS preloaded beneficiary to use is ‘SARS-ITA’.

Where to find your PRN:

On eFiling:

• If you owe money to SARS, the Payment Advice on eFiling is pre-populated with a unique Payment Reference Number (PRN). Please refer to your Statement of Account
• A Payment Advice Notice (PAN) is a remittance advice used when making payments to SARS. A PAN can be generated via SARS eFiling under the “General Unpaid” or “Payment Advice Notice” functions. If paying for multiple tax types (e.g., VAT and PAYE), separate PANs must be generated

By using SARS SOQS:

• SARS has implemented a new feature on the Send an Online Query System (SOQS) where taxpayers can request their Payment Reference Number (PRN) in order to help with payments to SARS.
• See What is my Payment Reference Number on the Send an Online Query System (SOQS) webpage.

These are the tax types that will be covered by the PRN feature on SOQS:

• Income Tax
• Provisional Tax
• VAT (limited to period PRNs)
• PAYE/SDL/UIF (limited to period PRNs)
• Dividends Tax

See the updated SARS Online Query System (SOQS) Guide here.

16 August 2025 – National Legislation:  National Treasury and SARS invite public comment on the 2025 Draft Tax Bills and Draft Regulations:

• Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2025
  • Draft Explanatory Memorandum on the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2025
• Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2025
  • Draft Memorandum on Objects of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2025
• Draft Domestic Reverse Charge Regulations, 2025
• Draft Export Regulations, 2025
  • Draft Explanatory Memorandum on the Draft Export Regulations, 2025

Due date for comment: 12 September 2025