Legal and Policy - 11 May 2023

SARS:

• 10 May 2023 – SARS Procurement policy documents have been revised.
• SS-PROC-01 – SARS Supply Chain Management – External Policy
• SS-PROC-03 – SARS Preferential Procurement – External Policy

• 10 May 2023 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods

• 8 May 2023 – Bulk and additional payments have been updated on eFiling. The following has changed:

The Payment Reference Number (PRN) that comes through admin penalty for the bulk payment will be rejected if it is processed incorrectly –

• When the zeroes (0) or just a nine (9) are being used for admin penalty (the ITPEN), it will be rejected as the zeroes (0) can be used only for PAYE and Assessed tax.
• A rule for Admin Penalty (ITPEN) has been added in the guide.

See the updated Guide to Bulk and additional payments on eFiling here.

Third Party Data Annual Submissions – Only 3 weeks to the DUE DATE

8 May 2023 – This communication serves as a reminder that the due date for the SARS Third Party Data Annual Submissions 2023 for the period 1 March 2022 – 28 February 2023 opened on 1 April 2023 and will close on 31 May 2023. Submissions in respect of data files and declarations of the various reportable data types, are now due.

As of this morning, we have received 35% of the expected submissions for this period.

If you have already made your respective submissions, we thank you kindly for your voluntary compliance.

You are encouraged to make your submissions ahead of the due date to avoid last minute challenges and potential delays that you may encounter.

For more information, please see the Third Party Data Submission Platform webpage.

• 8 May 2023 – e@syFile version 7.3.4 was released.
• 8 May 2023 – The list with latest dates and venues for Mobile Tax Units (MTU) in Western Cape has been published, see the Tax Workshops and MTU webpage.
• 5 May 2023 – Updated document: Process and CSV File Specification for Third Party Appointments (AA88) version 1.4

• 5 May 2023 – The latest Tender Bids Received document is now available.
• 5 May 2023 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendment notice R.3372, as published in Government Gazette 48518 of 5 May 2023, are now available.
• 5 May 2023 –Members of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) conducted a raid on an unauthorised warehouse in Vryburg, North-West yesterday, 4 May 2023, confiscating millions of rands worth of illegally manufactured alcohol and bitcoin mining equipment.

The warehouse was used to illegally connect the crypto currency mining equipment to the town’s electrical power supply. It was also used to manufacture 14 617 bottles of duty-free liquor and popular local brands.

See the full media statement here.

• 5 May 2023 – 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 & technology infrastructure. In order to provide clarity & certainty, make it easy for taxpayers & traders to comply with their obligations and building public trust and confidence, our technology assets have to demonstrate the highest levels of availability, robustness and security.

Pursuant to 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 & technology infrastructure are available, robust & secure, by performing regular upgrades, enhancements and maintenance.

In the light of the above, system upgrades are scheduled for Saturday, 6 May 2023 from 05:00 am until 10:00 am. During this time eFiling will be intermittently available.

• 4 May 2023 – Tax workshop schedules for Gauteng North during May have been published.
• 4 May 2023 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendment notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the amendments to –

Part 2 of Schedule No. 4, by the insertion of rebate item 460.16/8415.10.10/01.08, in order to provide for a rebate of the duty payable in Schedule No. 1 Part 1 for air-conditioning machines having a rated cooling capacity not exceeding 8,8 kilowatts, classifiable in tariff subheading 8415.10.10 – ITAC Report 681.

Publication details will be made available later

• 4 May 2023 – Income Tax Act, 1962: 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 May 2023 – Please be aware of scammers pretending to be from SARS engaging people through a Telegram group to pay tax through a merchant, with the promise of a subsequent refund and commission/salary. It seems a TikTok video is advertising opportunities to make money, and if people link themselves, they are added to a Telegram group. Please stay safe and vigilant, don’t click on any suspicious links or subscribe to ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes.

See the detail of this Telegram scam here or keep an eye on the Latest Scams webpage.

NATIONAL TREASURY:

• Explanatory Note on the Eskom Debt Settlement Arrangement – 8 May 2023
• Media Statement: Publication of Gazetted Notice on TAX Exemption of Bulking Payments to Former Members of Closed Retirement Funds – 5 May 2023
• Notice on Tax Exemption of Bulking Payments to Former Members of Closed Retirement Funds – 5 May
• Explanatory Memorandum: Notice Issued in Terms of Paragraph 2D of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Act – 5 May 2023

OECD:

• OECD and IGF invite public comments on draft toolkits to support developing countries in addressing base erosion and profit shifting risks when pricing minerals : by 14 July 2023 - 10 May 2023