What’s New at SARS

6 June 2024 – Achieving our Vision 2024 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, 7 June 2024 from 22h00 to 01h00 Saturday, 8 June 2024 .

During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling 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, 7 June 2024 @ 21h00.

6 June  2024 – Achieving our Vision 2024 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, 8 June 2024 from 19h30 to 24h00.

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

6 June 2024 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendments notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the amendment to Schedule No. 5 –

• by the substitution of Note 8 to insert the reference to refund item 541.01.

Publication details will be made available later

6 June 2024 – There is a new scam doing the rounds talking about outstanding tax payment. SARS does not give bank account number to taxpayers. If you owe SARS money, please see the following webpage, Make a Payment.

An example of the scam has been published on our Scams & Phishing webpage.

Note that the email address the scam is being sent from, is not a SARS email address:

From: South African Revenue Service <[email protected]>
Date: 2024/06/06 08:48 (GMT+02:00)
To:
Subject: Notification from SARS

Dear Taxpayer,

An important notification has been issued and is attached to this mail. Please respond or act as stated on the letter.

5 June 2024 – Achieving our Vision 2024 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, 7 June 2024 from 22h00 to 01h00 Saturday, 8 June 2024.

During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling 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, 7 June 2024 @ 17h00.

5 June 2024 – The Western Cape Mobile Tax Unit schedule for July 2024 is now available.

5 June 2024 – National Legislation: Revenue Laws Amendment Act 12 of 2024 promulgated on 4 June 2024

3 June 2023 – The Policy document related to staged consignments has been revised to include timelines of the application process. This will assist traders in submitting staged consignment applications on time, thus preventing delays. The following specific updates have been done:

• The period granted from the date of issue of the staged consignment approval letter
• The application for an extension
• Handling of damaged goods
• Goods that are not covered.

SC-CF-48 – Staged Consignment – External Policy

3 June 2024 – The Travel Manifest Submissions function enables you to submit manifest directly through the SARS Online Query System (SOQS).

3 June 2024 – The dates for the 2024 Filing Season are:

• Individual taxpayers (non-provisional): 15 July 2024 to 21 October 2024
  • Auto-assessment notices: 1 – 14 July 2024
• Provisional taxpayers: 15 July 2024 to 20 January 2025
• Trusts: 16 September 2024 to 20 January 2025

More information will soon be shared on the Filing Season webpage.

3 June 2024 – The SARS Kariega branch in Eastern Cape is closed until further notice due to floods in the area. All virtual appointments will still be honoured. Apologies for the inconvenience.

31 May 2024 – Tax Administration Act, 2011: Public Notice 4918 as published in Government Gazette 50741 of 31 May 2024 relating to returns to be submitted by a person in terms of section 25 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011, read with section 66(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962

31 May 2024 – South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R10.5 billion in April 2024 attributable to exports of R169.5 billion and imports of R159.1 billion.

See the full Media Release for April 2024 here.

Visit the Trade statistics webpage.

31 May 2024 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Customs Clearance Declaration (CCD) have been updated to include the details of the new approved container depots.

• Johannesburg – OR Tambo International Airport: ISS Global Forwarding South Africa (Pty) Ltd
• Johannesburg – OR Tambo International Airport: Allport Cargo Services (Pty) Ltd
• Durban: AMG Freight Logistics (Pty) Ltd

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

31 May 2024 – The Mobile Tax Unit and tax workshop schedules for Limpopo Province during June are now available.

31 May 2024 – Achieving our Vision 2024 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, 1 June 2024 from 20h00 to 03h00 Sunday, 2 June 2024.

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

28 May 2024 – Income Tax Act, 1962, and Value-Added Tax Act, 1991: Notice 4793 as published in Government Gazette 50642 on 10 May 2024, amending regulations in terms of –

• paragraph (d) of the Definition of “Scientific or Technological Research and Development” in Section 11D(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962) on Additional Criteria for Multisource Pharmaceutical Products;
• paragraph (e) of the Definition of “Scientific or Technological Research and Development” in section 11D(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962) on Criteria for Clinical Trials in respect of Deduction for Scientific or Technological Research and Development; and
• Domestic Reverse Charge Relating to Valuable Metal, issued in terms of Section 74(2) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act No. 89
  of 1991).

28 May 2024 – To facilitate the upcoming two-pot retirement system changes, SARS will be making enhancements to the Tax Directives process. The changes are detailed in IBIR-006 Tax Directives interim Interface Specification Version 6.702. A revised version of the specification will be published once the law is promulgated. SARS will also communicate trade testing dates in due course.

27 May 2024 – There are new scams doing the rounds talking of refund payments and supporting documents for eFilings.  Please do not open the links and delete the emails immediately. Examples of these scams were published on our Scams & Phishing webpage.

27 May 2024 – 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.