What’s New at SARS

25 April 2025 – The KwaZulu-Natal mobile tax unit schedule for May 2025 is now available.

24 April 2025 – National Legislation

• Memorandum on Objects of Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, 2025

24 April 2025 – National Legislation

• Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill [B14—2025]

The Minister of Finance introduced the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill [B14—2025] in the National Assembly on 24 April 2025

24 April 2025 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991: Frequently Asked Questions: Increase in the VAT Rate from 1 May 2025, and the Pocket Guide on the VAT Rate Increase from 1 May 2025 withdrawn by the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill [B14—2025] as tabled by the Minister of Finance in the National Assembly on 24 April 2025.

24 April 2025 – National Legislation: Notice of Introduction in National Assembly of Draft Rates Bill

• Notice of Introduction in National Assembly of draft Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, 2025, and Publication of Explanatory Summary of Bill, and Withdrawal of Notice

24 April 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariffs amendments notices, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relate to the following amendments:

With retrospective effect from 1 September 2024 up to and including 31 December 2024

• Schedule No. 1, to implement the revised Tariff Rate Quota in terms of the Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC-EU EPA)
• Schedule No. 1, to implement the revised Tariff Rate Quota in terms of the Economic Partnership Agreement (SACUM-UK EPA)

With retrospective effect from 1 January 2025

• Schedule No. 1, to implement the revised Tariff Rate Quota in terms of the Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC-EU EPA)
• Schedule No. 1, to implement the revised Tariff Rate Quota in terms of the Economic Partnership Agreement (SACUM-UK EPA)

Publication details will be made available later

24 April 2025- The South African Revenue Service (SARS) wishes to inform that 31 May 2025 is the deadline to file the Employer’s Annual Declaration.

The Employer Annual Declaration process is the most important step that precedes the Personal Income Tax (PIT) Filing Season, which takes place later in the year. The information gathered during the Employer Annual Declaration period, the monthly declaration in EMP201 and reconciliation in EMP501 aids SARS to issue taxpayers with accurate auto-assessed or pre-populated Income Tax Return (ITR12).  Incomplete or incorrect information will make it difficult for employees to fulfil their tax obligations. Timely distribution of IRP5 and IT3 certificates by employers is extremely important as employees require these certificates to file their ITR12s returns during tax season.

SARS has introduced an enhanced version of the e@syfile™ Employer software (version 8.0) to enrich your filing experience. The latest version comes with improved capability, ensuring a smoother, more efficient reconciliation process. We encourage employers, tax practitioners, and payroll administrators to download the new e@syfile™ Employer v8.0 from the e@syFile download page on www.sars.gov.za before submitting the Employer Annual declarations.

It is important to note that all Employers are required and must submit their Employers Annual Declaration, including those Employers who are not economically active. SARS will hold all Employers liable for the non-compliance of the Employers Annual Declaration submission.

Employers can access the how-to videos” uploaded onto the SARS TV YouTube Channel.

For further information please contact [email protected].

23 April 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, 25 April 2025 from 18h00 to 22h00,

Saturday, 26 April 2025 from 20h00 to 22h00.

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

23 April 2025 – SARS invites you to tender for the goods and/or services as detailed in RFP31/2024. The conditions in the SARS Chain Management Policy and the Regulatory Framework which governs tenders at SARS are applicable to this tender process.

22 April 2025 – The Western Cape mobile tax unit schedule for May 2025 is now available.

22 April 2025 – The Corporate Income Tax Guide has been updated to include additional clarity on Beneficial Ownership. As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), South Africa is committed to implementing measures that ensure the availability of adequate, accurate, and timely information regarding the beneficial ownership and control of legal persons and arrangements. In line with this commitment, SARS has introduced requirements for submitting the Beneficial Interest and Beneficial Ownership registers as part of the Income Tax Return for Companies (ITR14) submission process, effective from the 2022 year of assessment.

Updated guide: How to complete the Income Tax Return ITR14 for Companies

22 April 2025 – The latest edition of the SARS Government Connect Newsletter for April 2025 is now available.  In this newsletter, we provide information on the Employer Annual Declarations commencing on1 April 2025 and updated guides and videos for Tax Exempt Institutions. In addition, we provide details of collaboration agreements that SARS has entered into with other government institutions and updates to the SARS Payments guide.

17 April 2025 – SARS invites you to tender for the goods and/or services as detailed in RFP39/2024. The conditions in the SARS Chain Management Policy and the Regulatory Framework which governs tenders at SARS are applicable to this tender process.

17 April 2025 – In this newsletter, we provide information about how tax practitioners can use the SARS MobiApp to assist their clients; the Employer Annual Reconciliation Declarations that commenced on 1 April 2025; updated guides and videos for Tax Exempt Institutions and the Customs Sufficient Knowledge Competency Assessment for Accredited Economic Operators. In addition, we provide details about collaboration agreements that we have entered into with other government institutions and updates to the SARS Payments guide.

17 April 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notice R6129, as published in Government Gazette 52525 of 17 April 2025, are now available.

17 April 2025 – The existing auto merge (actioned by SARS) has been enhanced to cater for likely and possible matches. A possible or likely match refers to records that match one or two key identity information fields, for example surname or name, or registered name for companies. The likely and possible matches will include companies, individuals, and trusts (Testamentary and Intervivos only).

The auto merge process will exclude the following entity records:

• Large Business and International Tax (LBI) records;
• Government institutions, municipalities, clubs, welfare organisations, collective investment schemes;
• Foreign entities registered with a passport number; and
• Estate cases.

Taxpayers will be informed of the proposed merge via a letter (similar to the previous auto merge performed by SARS), and they will still be afforded the opportunity to object against the auto merge if they are not in agreement with the proposed merge.

A request to object against the auto merge can be submitted via eFiling, at a SARS Office or through the SARS Online Query System (SOQS). Taxpayers must provide detailed reasons why a specific record should be excluded from the consolidated profile.

Updated guide:

• GEN-ELEC-15-G02 – Guide to the Auto Merge Function on eFiling – External Guide

17 April 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft Amendments to Rules under sections 77H and 120 – Internal administrative appeal

Due date for comment: 2 May 2025

16 April 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 18.35c/kg and 27.52c/kg, respectively to 54.95c/kg and 82.42c/kg, in terms of the existing variable tariff formula (ITAC Minute M12/2024).

Publication details will be made available later

16 April 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962, and Tax Administration Act, 2011

• Sishen Iron Ore Company (Pty) Ltd v CSARS (550/2023) [2025] ZASCA 16 (5 March 2025)

Taxation – taxpayer deriving income from mining operations – whether expenditure incurred in respect of the relocation of a neighbouring residential township, expenditure incurred in respect of the relocation of certain infrastructure within the mining area, legal costs incurred with regard to the relocation of the township, and the costs of relocating a 66kV line supplying electricity to mine equipment to a new location within the mining area, deductible – special deductions provisions in s 15(a) read with s 36(7C) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (the ITA) in respect of ‘capital expenditure’ – meaning of ‘in terms of a mining right’ and ‘other than in respect of infrastructure’ in s 36(11)(e) of the ITA – meaning of ‘mine equipment’ in s 36(11)(a) of the ITA – whether deduction for wear and tear under s 11(e) of the ITA established in respect of 66kV line – in the alternative, whether general deduction provision in s 11(a) of the ITA applies to expenditure in respect of relocation of the 66kV line – burden of proof in s 102 of Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA) – whether legal expenditure deductible in terms of s 11(c) of the ITA – whether interest in terms of s 89quat(2) of the ITA on outstanding tax on disallowed deductions a result of circumstances beyond the control of the taxpayer – whether the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services (CSARS) should have determined, in terms of s 89quat(3) of the ITA, that interest not be paid, whether in whole or in part.

15 April 2025 – Scamsters are calling people and telling them that they have been flagged for sending suspicious packages internationally. The fraudsters have the personal information of the people that they are calling, including their names, email addresses and identity numbers.

They intimidate people by threatening them with imprisonment for being in possession of illegal documents and drugs. They tell their targets that the matter needs to be taken up with the police and the call is then transferred to what is purported to be an official government line.

People are advised to end the call immediately. If they continue with the call, the fraudsters will undoubtedly use scare tactics to further phish and bribe them. SARS Customs will not call people to request any of this information. If a client has ordered or sent a parcel, the company that handled the initial transaction will engage with their client. Information about importing and exporting, including postal goods, is available on the Imports and Exports webpages.