What’s New at SARS

7 November 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication of rules amendments notices R6800 and R6801, as published in Government Gazette 53629 of 7 November 2025:

• Amendments to the rules under sections 26 and 120 – Transfer of ownership (DAR265)
• Amendments to the rules under sections 77H and 120 – Internal appeals (DAR264)

7 November 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notices R6796, R6797, R6798, and R6799, as published in Government Gazette 53629 of 7 November 2025, are now available.

7 November 2025 – The formal launch of the South Africa and Lesotho Time Release Study (TRS) took place on 6 November 2025, at the Victory Hall in Maseru, Lesotho. This collaborative, cross-border initiative, spearheaded by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Revenue Service Lesotho (RSL), represents a rigorous diagnostic assessment of trade efficiency along the Maseru Bridge and Ficksburg Bridge corridors. The key finding is a critical paradox: while internal Customs system processing (Mark for Arrival to Mark for Exit) is remarkably swift (averaging eight to 19 minutes), the overall end-to-end time experienced by the trade community is unacceptably excessive (ranging up to two hours). This disparity proves that the primary barriers to trade facilitation are not technological but are rooted in systemic control gaps, procedural non-compliance, and infrastructure deficiencies, necessitating urgent and comprehensive governance reform.

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

With effect from 1 January 2026

• Part 2A of Schedule No. 1, as a consequence to the amendment in Part 1 Schedule No. 1, to provide for technical amendments published on 3 October 2025 in Government Gazette No. 53461

Up to and including 1 May 2026

• Part 3 of Schedule No. 2, by the substitution of various items under item 260.03, in order to list the rebate items intended to be excluded from the safeguard duty of a rate of 13% on certain hot-rolled steel products, classifiable under Chapter 72 (ITAC Minute M02/2025)

With effect from 2 May 2026 up to and including 1 May 2027

• Part 3 of Schedule No. 2, by the substitution of various items under item 260.03, in order to list the rebate items intended to be excluded from the safeguard duty of a rate of 11% on certain hot-rolled steel products, classifiable under Chapter 72 (ITAC Minute M02/2025)

With effect from 2 May 2027 up to and including 1 May 2028

• Part 3 of Schedule No. 2, by the substitution of various items under item 260.03, in order to list the rebate items intended to be excluded from the safeguard duty of a rate of 9% on certain hot-rolled steel products, classifiable under Chapter 72 (ITAC Minute M02/2025)

Publication details will be made available later

6 November 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:

Saturday, 8 November 2025 from 20h00 to 23h59.

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

Arrival and exit management functions will not be available at land border posts for declarations and manifests.

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Saturday, 8 November 2025 @ 16h00 and plan land-based cargo movements accordingly to avoid any delays.

6 November 2025 – SARS is inviting you to a webinar on Wednesday, 12 November 2025 to discuss disability-related tax matters.

Join us as we commemorate Disability Rights Awareness Month (DRAM2025), observed annually from 3 November to 3 December, with a special webinar hosted by SARS in partnership with the South African Disability Alliance (SADA) and Down Syndrome South Africa (DSSA).

Who should attend?

The event is open to all SARS employees, taxpayers, families, caregivers, and the wider public. Whether you are navigating disability-related tax matters or passionate about building a more inclusive South Africa, your participation is welcome!

Webinar Details:

Date: Wednesday, 12 November 2025

Time: 10:00 – 13:00

Platform: https://youtube.com/live/LTS0Ewd9Gfk?feature=share

Why Attend?

• Gain practical guidance on how persons with disabilities, parents, and caregivers can complete tax forms for rebates.
• Receive step-by-step advice on what may be included in claims for medical and disability-related tax rebates.
• Get clarity on common queries and challenges faced by families when completing these forms.
• Empower yourself with knowledge about the benefits and rights available to the disability community.

The webinar will be recorded and published subsequently on the SARSTV YouTube channel.

If you have any queries regarding the webinar, please email: [email protected].

This event is an opportunity to raise awareness, empower families, and strengthen organisations that support persons with disabilities. SARS is committed to fostering inclusion and providing essential information to ensure everyone has access to the support they need.

Don’t miss out—let’s work together to build a more inclusive future for all.

5 November 2025 – SARS is hosting a Tax Compliance Webinar on 18 & 20 November 2025 for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) as part of our Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Join us to gain valuable insights into tax obligations, compliance requirements, and how SARS supports entrepreneurs in building sustainable businesses.

Webinar Details & Tax Topics:

Click the appended MS Teams Link to JOIN!

Microsoft Teams

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 310 564 563 237 95

Passcode: Np62Yf3e

4 November 2025 – The Western Cape mobile tax unit schedule for November 2025 is now available.

4 November 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:

Saturday, 8 November 2025 from 20h00 to 23h59.

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

Arrival and exit management functions will not be available at land border posts for declarations and manifests.

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Saturday, 8 November 2025 @ 16h00 and plan land-based cargo movements accordingly to avoid any delays.

4 November 2025 – The e@syFile™ Employer version 8.0.1_328 release notes specify the following changes:

• • Correction made when using the Retrieve Certificate History option to ‘read’ postal address detail.
  • Correction made to import files that pass validation but fail to import.
  • A change has been made to the Trading name to allow more than 50 characters.

See more detail in the release notes.

3 November 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.

31 October 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 141 – The meaning of reserve fund under section 23(e)

31 October 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendments to rules and forms under sections 15 and 120 – Implementation of the South African traveller management system

Due date for comment: 21 November 2025

31 October 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notices R6768 (GG 53600) and R6783 (GG 53606), published on 31 October 2025, are now available.

31 October 2025 – South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R21.8 billion in September 2025. This surplus was attributable to exports of R186.4 billion and imports of R164.6 billion, inclusive of trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN).

For more detail, see the full Media Release.

Visit the Trade Statistics webpage.

31 October 2025 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Customs Clearance Declaration (CCD) has been updated to include details of the de-grouping facility for Pro-Logistics Forwarding (Pty) Ltd, located at O. R. Tambo 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

30 October 2025 – The SARS Annual Report for 2024/2025 has been published. The Strategic Plan End-Term Report for 2020 – 2025 is also available now:

• SARS Annual Report for 2024 – 2025
• Strategic Plan End-Term Report 2020 – 2025

30 October 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964:The tariffs amendments notices, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relate to the imposition of –

• provisional payment in relation to anti-dumping duties against the alleged circumvention of the anti-dumping duties on windscreens for vehicles classifiable under tariff subheading 7007.21.20 originating in or imported from the Peoples Republic of China by importing the windscreens under tariff subheading 8708.22.10 – (ITAC Report No. 756); and
• provisional payment in relation to anti-dumping duties against the alleged circumvention of the anti-dumping duties on windscreens for vehicles, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7007.21.20 and 8708.22.10, through country hopping originating in or imported from the People’s Republic of China via Malaysia – (ITAC Report No.757)

Publication details will be made available later.

30 October 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 are scheduled for:

Friday, 31 October 2025 from 17h00 to 19h00
Saturday, 1 November from 05h00 to 10h00

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

30 October 2025 – SARS has rescheduled the launch of the GloBE registration and notification functionality on eFiling from December 2025 to 16 March 2026. This adjustment ensures system quality and compliance with international standards. For queries, contact [email protected].

For details on revised deadlines and next steps, see the Global Minimum Tax webpage.