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2023 Legal and Policy

Legal and Policy - 15 June 2023

Overview

Legal and Policy

Description

SARS:

  • 14 June 2023 – Tax Administration Act, 2011

Public Notice 3540 in Government Gazette 48788 of 14 June 2023 – Returns to be submitted by a person in terms of section 25

  • 14 June 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 light of the above, SARS Systems upgrades are scheduled for:

  • Thursday 15 June from 22:00 to Friday 16 June 03:00,
  • Friday 16 June from 22:00 to Saturday 17 June 02:00,
  • Saturday 17 June from 15:00 to 21:00.

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

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit priority Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest by Thursday 15 June 2023 @ 18h00.

Specific Goals clarification

  • 12 June 2023 – The Customs Division of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) today began to destroy illicit and smuggled cigarettes, valued at R43 million, at the Beitbridge border post.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Johnstone Makhubu, said a huge volume of cigarettes will be destroyed, in total 2000 master cases, or 20 million cigarettes, which means that the destruction of the illicit and smuggled cigarettes is likely to last a few days.

The illicit and smuggled cigarettes were seized in multi-agency operations as well as dedicated and intelligence-driven operations as part of the Customs division’s tobacco strategy, led by its National Rapid Response Team, often supported by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and its Hawks unit, as well as the Immigration division of the Department of Home Affairs.

The Deputy Commissioner added that in one such operation in February this year at the Beitbridge border post:

  • A total 1211 master boxes of illicit cigarettes with brands of Remington Gold, Chelsea and Royal Express, with an estimated value of R26 million, were seized.
  • Four people were arrested, and criminal cases opened with regard to dealing in the smuggling of illicit cigarettes.
  • 4 trucks, one bakkie and one tractor with a trailer, which were used to carry the illicit cigarettes, were detained with an estimated value of over R3 million.

SARS, including its Customs Division, has the Strategic Intent of promoting voluntary compliance among taxpayers and traders. This means that SARS has strategic objectives to make it easy and simple to comply, provide information and education for clarity and certainty, and to make it hard and costly for those who wilfully refuse to comply.

“This means SARS has a zero tolerance for persons or organisations that are involved in tax crime or illicit trade and that SARS will pursue them relentlessly.”

Illicit trade robs the government of much-needed revenue and destroy industries, exacerbating unemployment, poverty and inequality. The illicit products which are being imported or exported, include second hand motor vehicles, poultry, clothing, leather and textiles, essential infrastructure (copper and steel) and gold amongst others. An inter-agency working group (IAWG) has been set up to deal with all aspects of illicit trade,

The Director of Customs and Excise, Mr Beyers Theron, said that as part of its far-sighted planning, Customs has put in place measures to grant benefits to compliant traders through the Accredited Economic Operator model. These benefits include cost-savings and quicker turnaround times, amongst others. Similarly, SARS is busy implementing SMART border technology to increase its detection capability and response to non-compliance.

“Since the inception of its co-ordinated and focused investigations Customs has been conducting over the past three years in the tobacco and cigarette industry, there has been a noticeable shift to increased cross-border smuggling using “runners”. These are not individuals smuggling these cigarettes as an entrepreneurial opportunity but organised criminal syndicates exploiting the unemployed and the poor by employing individuals as runners to carry goods, often for miles, across borders.

“These runners carry at least two master cases of illicit cigarettes on their backs per un, often repeating these trips multiple times. These cigarettes are then loaded into trucks, small goods vehicles, cars and taxis, that wait at locations along the border for distribution to their intended destinations on the local market,” Mr Theron said.

For more information, contact SarsMedia@sars.gov.za

  • 2023 Draft Revenue Administration and Pension Laws Amendment Bill
    • Draft Memorandum on Objects of 2023 Draft Revenue Administration and Pension Laws Amendment Bill
  • 2023 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill
    • Draft Explanatory Memorandum on the 2023 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill

Due date for comment: 15 July 2023

Integrated Strategic Sourcing and Purchasing Solution (eTendering and ePurchasing)

  • 9 June 2023 – RFI01/2023: Back Up Solution

As other organizations SARS backs up its data assets. In order to do this in an accurate manner, SARS must keep up with market technology trends. This RFI details the requirements for a SAN network backup storage solution. Click here to view the tender documents.

Goods classified under tariff heading 8408.90.65 are not restricted.

  • 8 June 2023 – Income Tax Act, 1962

Interpretation Note 130 – Exemption for international aid received or accrued under an official development assistance agreement

  • Table A – A list of the average exchange rates of selected currencies for a year of assessment as from December 2003
  • Table B – A list of the monthly average exchange rates to assist a person whose year of assessment is shorter or longer than 12 months

NATIONAL TREASURY:

OECD:

AuthorLegal and Policy
DivisionTax
Keywords
Legal and Policy
15 June 2023
SARS
National Treasury
OECD
Categories
Legal and Policy
Date15 June 2023