Legal and Policy - 26 September 2023

Legal and Policy - 26 September 2023

SARS:

• 27 September 2023 – The mobile tax unit schedules for Mpumalanga province during October and November are now available.
• 27 September 2023 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods
• 26 September 2023 – The SARS branch in Rissik street, Johannesburg CBD, remains closed from this afternoon until further notice. All virtual appointments will still be honoured. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
• 26 September 2023 – The SARS pop-up branch schedules for Vrede and Frankfort in the Free State province have been published. These schedules are for the current week ending on Friday, 29 September.
• 22 September 2023 – This communication is intended to inform you of the extension of the submission date for electronic registration to the Diesel Refund for Food Manufacturers Scheme (DRFMS). Initially scheduled for 26 September 2023, the rollout date has been extended to 29 September 2023. The South African Revenue Services (SARS) has opted to perform additional testing and quality assurance measures to ensure an effective implementation of the digitalised and streamlined electronic registration system for this new refund scheme.

For more information, see our letter to Trade.

• 22 September 2023 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendment notices R3903, R3904, R3905, R3906, R3907, R3908 and R3909, as published in Government Gazette 49328 of 22 September 2023, are now available.
• 22 September 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. 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.

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

Considering the above, SARS Digital platform upgrades are scheduled for Friday, 22 September 2023 from 18:00 to 22:00.

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

• 22 September 2023 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods
• 21 September 2023 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendment notices, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relate to the following amendments:

With effect from 22 September 2023

• Part 2 of Schedule No. 4, by the insertion of rebate item 460.15/7312.10.40/01.08, in order to create a rebate provision for the importation of steel cord of a kind used in the manufacture of steel cord-reinforced conveyor belting, classifiable in tariff subheading 7312.10.40 – ITAC Report 701

• Schedule No. 5, by the substitution of Notes 8, 11, 12 and 13 to provide for specific drawbacks and refunds of customs duties paid on imported fuel levy goods upon the subsequent export or removal thereof to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN)

• Part 2 of Schedule No. 5, by the substitution of Note 5(a), the insertion of Note 8 as well as the insertion of refund items 522.07 and 522.07/00.00/01.00 to provide for specific drawbacks and refunds of customs duties paid on imported fuel levy goods upon the subsequent export or removal thereof to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN)

• Part 4 of Schedule No. 5, by the substitution of Note 1, the insertion of Notes 3, 4 and 5 as well as the insertion of refund items 541.00 and 541.00/00.00/01.00 to provide for specific drawbacks and refunds of customs duties paid on imported fuel levy goods upon the subsequent export or removal thereof to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN)

• Part 1 of Schedule No. 1, by the insertion of tariff subheadings 8207.13.27 and 8207.19.15 as well as the substitution of tariff subheadings 8207.13.25 and 8207.19.10, in order to increase the rate of customs duty on certain drilling or earth boring tools, including certain parts thereof, from free of duty and 15%, respectively to 20% – ITAC Report 708

With retrospective effect from 14 June 2023

• Part 1 of Schedule No. 2, by the deletion of item 206.04/3207.40/02.06, in order to terminate the anti-dumping duty on glass frit originating in or imported from Brazil – Minute 14/2022

With retrospective effect from 1 April 2023

• Part 2 of Schedule No. 4, by the substitution of rebate item 460.03/0207.14.9/01.07, in order to increase the annual quota for frozen bone-in cuts of the species Gallus Domesticus originating in or imported from the United States of America from 71 632 tonnes to 71 963 tonnes – ITAC Minute M04/2023

Publication details will be made available later

• 21 September 2023 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) confirms that a fire broke out at its branch in Rissik Street, Johannesburg, yesterday.

All staff and taxpayers were immediately evacuated and no one incurred any serious injuries. The fire was successfully extinguished due to the prompt and efficient response by fire Rescue services.

As a result of the fire, SARS has suspended its services at the Rissik Street Branch and will provide services virtually. Taxpayers are urged to book an appointment for assistance via the SARS Website at www.sars.gov.za. Those who want to visit our offices, can make an appointment to visit either Randburg or Alberton branches. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter thanked the fire and medical emergency personnel who assisted in containing the damage and treating those affected.

The cause and extent of the fire is unknown at this stage and will be investigated.

For further information please contact SARS at SARSMedia@sars.gov.za

OECD:

• Eswatini signs landmark agreement to strengthen its tax treaties and Armenia and Côte d'Ivoire deposit their instrument for the ratification of the Multilateral BEPS Convention - 27 September 2023

Progress continues in strengthening tax transparency through Country-by-Country reporting - 25 September 2023