What’s New at SARS

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.

8 July 2025 – The Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list has been updated.

New subheadings inserted under Tariff heading 7210.70:

• • 7210.70.20
  • 7210.70.30
  • 7210.70.40
  • 7210.70.50

7 July 2025 — Mr Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, and Mr Edward Kieswetter, SARS Commissioner, today visited SARS’s Alberton Taxpayer Service Centre to review its state of readiness as Auto Assessment begins, running from 7 to 20 July 2025.

Minister Godongwana and Commissioner Kieswetter interacted with taxpayers, most of whom had visited the offices to update and verify their registered details, including changing emails, banking information, and cellphone numbers. Some of the taxpayers had visited the branch to settle matters related to their outstanding tax debt and returns.

SARS has started to issue Auto Assessments to taxpayers whose tax affairs are less complicated. If taxpayers agree with their Auto Assessment, no further action is required from them. Acceptance is automatic, so taxpayers need not manually accept the Auto Assessment. Taxpayers are advised to wait for the SMS/email notice before logging in to eFiling or the SARS MobiApp.

Refunds more than R100 due to taxpayers will automatically be paid into their bank accounts within 72 hours once the assessment is completed.

Filing Season 2025 opens for non-provisional and some provisional taxpayers who were not auto-assessed. The filing period for non-provisional taxpayers is from 21 July to 20 October 2025. Provisional taxpayers’ filing window will close on 19 January 2026.

The following dates should be diarised for this year’s Filing Season:

• Issuing of Auto Assessment notices:7–20 July 2025
• Individual taxpayers (non-provisional):21 July–20 October 2025
• Provisional taxpayers:21 July 2025–19 January 2026

Taxpayers are urged to be extremely careful and keep their details confidential. In the run-up to Filing Season, there will be many attempts from scammers to defraud taxpayers. Scammers can present themselves as SARS officials to steal taxpayers’ personal details, make them click on links, or pay money into an account. SARS will never ask taxpayers to use any link. Taxpayers must protect their eFiling login details and use only registered tax practitioners.

Information on the latest scams can be found on the SARS website: www.sars.gov.za. To report or request information on phishing, taxpayers can send an email to [email protected].

To avoid penalties, taxpayers must submit accurate information promptly. For a smooth and easy Filing Season 2025, taxpayers are urged to use the following communication channels with SARS:

• SARS Website: visit www.sars.gov.za and click on the “Individuals” tab.
• SARS Online Query System (SOQS): https://tools.sars.gov.za/soqs.
• SARS WhatsApp: send “Hi” or “Hello” to 0800 117 277.
• AI Virtual Assistant: available 24/7 on the SARS website to answer queries.
• Dial *134*7277#: to access SARS services.
• SARS YouTube: visit @sarstax for how-to videos.

No need to visit a SARS branch. If you must, first book an appointment to avoid long queues.

Minister Godongwana expressed his satisfaction at SARS’s state of readiness to deliver a successful and easy Filing Season for taxpayers. Commissioner Kieswetter encouraged taxpayers to use SARS’s digital channels to engage with the organisation. He said that “taxpayers do not have to expose themselves to the elements in this cold weather and stand in queues. They can conduct their tax affairs in the comfort of their homes rather than pay taxi fares”.

Picture1: SARS Alberton Service Centre Manager – Jenny Kotze, SARS Commissioner Kieswetter & Minister of Finance Godongwana

For more information, please contact [email protected].

7 July 2025 – SARS invites you to tender for the goods and/or services as detailed in the tender documents. The conditions contained in the SARS Supply Chain Management Policy and the Regulatory Framework which governs tenders at SARS are applicable to the RFP14/2025 tender process.

7 July 2025 – Our system is currently experiencing unusually high traffic volumes. We value your experience and appreciate your patience as our dedicated teams work diligently to resolve the issue and restore full service as quickly as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

7 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.

7 July 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962: Updated Tables of Interest Rates

• Table 1 – Interest rates on outstanding taxes and interest rates payable on certain refunds of tax
• Table 2 – Interest rates payable on credit amounts

4 July 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962: Guides published in preparation for Filing Season 2025:

• Guide on Income Tax and the Individual (2024/25)
• Guide on the Determination of Medical Aid Tax Credits (Issue 17)

4 July 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 33 (Issue 6) – Assessed losses: Companies: The “trade” and “income from trade” requirements

4 July 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 33 (Issue 5) – Assessed losses: Companies: The “trade” and “income from trade” requirements

4 July 2025 – SARS invites you to tender for the goods and/or services as detailed in the tender documents. The conditions contained in the SARS Supply Chain Management Policy and the Regulatory Framework which governs tenders at SARS are applicable to the RFP10/2025 tender process.

4 July 2025 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991

• CSARS v Woolworths Holdings Limited (863/2023) [2025] ZASCA 99 (04 July 2025)

Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (VAT Act) – An entity conducting an enterprise as an investment company is entitled to input tax deduction in respect of costs incurred in relation to a rights offer made to shareholders to raise capital for further investment which would increase the value of its investments.

4 July 2025 – Tax Administration Act, 2011: Public Notice 6390 as published in Government Gazette 52939 of 4 July 2025 relating to extending the date by which a taxpayer, eligible for automatic assessment, must submit an income tax return.

4 July 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendments to rules under sections 64E and 120 Rules Amendments – Accreditation of clients

Due date for comment: 17 July 2025

4 July 2025 – The SARS Online Query System (SOQS) guide has been updated with two changes:

1. The “What’s My Directive Status” query has been enhanced to include the One-Time Password (OTP) step, providing an additional layer of security to protect against unauthorised access.
2. A new “Provisional Taxpayer Auto Assessment Request” service has been introduced. This service allows eligible provisional taxpayers who have received corresponding notifications from SARS to request inclusion in the auto assessment population for the 2025 year of assessment.

Updated guide: GEN-GEN-51-G01 – SARS Online Query System – External Guide

4 July 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notices R6378, R6379, and R6380, as published in Government Gazette 52938 of 4 July 2025, are now available.

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

• Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, by the insertion of tariff subheadings under subheading 8543.40, in order to provide for vaping devices presented with vaping liquid;
• Part 2A of Schedule No. 1, as a consequence to the amendment to Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, in order to provide for vaping devices presented with vaping liquid and the insertion of Note 5 to clarify that the rate of duty specified in the rate of duty column is only applicable to liquid presented with the device; and
• Part 1E of Schedule No. 6, as a consequence to the amendments in Part 2A of Schedule No. 1, to provide for a rebate of duty on locally manufactured goods as well as the substitution of Notes 1, 2 and 4 to include the reference to the newly inserted rebate items 622.24, 622.25 and 622.26.

Publication details will be made available later

3 July 2025 – Taxpayers who get an Auto Assessment will be notified of the outcome by SMS or email from 7 – 20 July 2025.

From 7 July, you can check if you will be auto-assessed go to the SARS Online Query System (SOQS) dashboard on the Use our Digital Channels webpage. Once you have accessed it, navigate to “My Auto-Assessment Status” icon to check your status. Please wait for your SMS or email notification before checking as it will be released in batches during the period between 7 and 20 July 2025.

Understanding Auto Assessment

Auto Assessment is an automatic tax assessment of a personal income tax return in which SARS uses pre-filed information to calculate and issue an assessment without the need for taxpayers to complete or submit a tax return. SARS uses information from employers, banks, medical schemes, retirement funds, and insurers.

Auto Assessment notice will advise if you paid too much or too little tax in the previous financial year.

For more information, see the How does Auto-Assessment work webpage.

#YourTaxMatters #FilingSeason2025

2 July 2025 – SARS invites you to tender for the goods and/or services as detailed in the tender documents. The conditions contained in the SARS Supply Chain Management Policy and the Regulatory Framework which governs tenders at SARS are applicable to the RFP08/2025 tender process.

2 July 2025 — This past week, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) marked a historic milestone in Brussels with the signing of three Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) for its Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme. SARS is partnering with the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). In addition, SARS undertook a Memorandum of Understanding with the Customs & Excise department of Hong Kong, China, regarding cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in Customs matters. SARS also concluded a cooperation agreement with the Xiamen District of the General Administration of China Customs.

SARS also engaged in follow-up conversations with the Canada Border Services Agency, (CBSA) concluding the exploration of mutual recognition for AEO. SARS engaged the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia to explore cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in Customs matters and mutual recognition for AEO.

MRA negotiation is a multi-phase undertaking that demands operational trust and verified equivalence in programmes and procedure. It is not about blanket acceptance but ensuring that one country can confidently rely on another’s AEO validations and customs processes without compromising security or compliance integrity. Once signed, MRAs require ongoing cooperation, system interoperability, and joint reviews to maintain their effectiveness.

These events are not just diplomatic achievements; they are the culmination of more than five years of sustained technical engagement, policy alignment, and trust-building. The journey to mutual recognition is a rigorous one, involving detailed assessments of each country’s customs-compliance frameworks, validation procedures, and risk-management systems. The fact that SARS has successfully concluded MRAs with three of the world’s major trading nations is a powerful testament to the maturity, credibility, and international standing of South Africa’s AEO programme.

Through these MRA agreements, SARS and its MRA partners have committed to recognising each other’s AEOs, enabling accredited traders to benefit from faster customs clearance, reduced inspections, and lower administrative burdens. These facilitation benefits will apply to trade between South Africa and the US, UK, and India — countries that together account for approximately $37–40 billion in trade with South Africa (per SARS Trade Statistics data for 2024).

Notably, South Africa has become the first country on the African continent to achieve an MRA with the United States under its Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program — a milestone that underscores both operational excellence and international trust. CTPAT is widely regarded as one of the most mature, influential, and operationally demanding supply-chain security partnership programmes globally. Its design has shaped many AEO programmes around the world. While the World Customs Organization’s SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade remains the overarching international blueprint for AEO programmes, CTPAT stands as the de facto global benchmark for operational rigour, security validation, and customs-to-customs trust. The United States maintains exceptionally high standards for MRAs, making this achievement both rare and hard-earned.

These new MRAs reflect SARS’s commitment to building a trusted global network of trade partners, one that balances facilitation with security, and innovation with integrity. As the global trade landscape evolves, South Africa is not just adapting; it is helping to shape the future of customs cooperation and supply-chain security on the African continent and beyond.

Since its launch in November 2020, the SARS AEO programme, which is fully aligned to SAFE, has enjoyed unprecedented uptake. These achievements reflect SARS’s commitment to trade facilitation, stakeholder satisfaction, and sustainable compliance. Importantly, AEOs now benefit from compelling reciprocal advantages through our MRA partners. It’s become a cornerstone of SARS’s strategy to promote voluntary compliance and optimise resource allocation across the customs landscape. As of 31 May 2025, SARS has accredited 831 AEOs in South Africa.

This significantly enhances the competitiveness of local exporters that choose to join SARS’s AEO Programme, benefiting from SARS’s network of MRAs now extending to China, Hong Kong, India, SACU (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia), Uganda, the UK, the US, and Zambia. With these MRAs in place, SARS now has mutual-recognition coverage for nearly 46% of South Africa’s export destinations by value, significantly enhancing the competitiveness of local exporters.

“This achievement is not only a win for SARS, but a win for South Africa’s economy and our position in the global trade ecosystem”, said SARS Commissioner and the WCO Council Chairperson Edward Kieswetter. “Securing MRAs with three major trading partners — including the United States, the United Kingdom, and India — demonstrates the growing trust in South Africa’s tax and customs systems and our commitment to enabling legitimate trade while safeguarding our borders”. The Commissioner noted that the MRAs “also reflect the principles at the heart of the WCO SAFE Framework: collaboration, risk management, and shared responsibility for secure and efficient global supply chains. As the first country in Africa to sign an MRA with the United States, we are proud to lead the way for the continent in deepening trade facilitation and security cooperation with the world’s largest economy”.

For further information, please contact [email protected]