Legal and Policy - 9 May 2024

Legal and Policy - 9 May 2024

SARS

• 2 May 2024 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods
• 3 May 2024 – The tax workshop schedules for May have been published. See under the following provinces:

· Limpopo

· North West

· Free State & Northern Cape

· KwaZulu-Natal

More schedules will be published as they become available.

• 3 May 2024 – Income Tax Act, 1962

· Draft Interpretation Note – Income Tax Exemption: Water Services Provider

Due date for comment: 7 June 2024

• 6 May 2024 – There is a new scam doing the rounds talking of an outstanding amount. Please do not open the link and delete the email immediately. An example of this scam was published on our Scams & Phishing webpage.

• 7 May 2024 – An essential part of the delivery of SARS’s Vision 2024 is the organisation’s digital platforms and technology infrastructure. As such, on 20 April 2024, SARS successfully released the system enhancements to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in resolving Trust tax disputes. These enhancements will aid in providing clarity and certainty and make it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations.

The Trust dispute process was always a manual process that was done using the ADR1 and ADR2 forms (alternative dispute resolution forms). The new enhancements for Trusts will entail the submission of disputes through eFiling or by visiting a SARS branch. Therefore, the current electronic functionalities for disputes, Requests for Reasons, Requests for Remission (RFR), Notices of Objection, and Notices of Appeal, now accommodate submissions by Trusts.

Both channels will assist taxpayers in capturing the RFR, or dispute, via a fully guided process.

However, it should be noted that Trusts that submitted any of the processes mentioned above before 20 April 2024 should still conclude their dispute through the manual process.

• 7 May 2024 – The SARS Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2024/25 is now available. This APP builds on a strong foundation and our lasting dedication to the South African public, taxpayers and traders. In this financial year, SARS commits to:

• Prioritise the most essential and beneficial strategic initiatives. The initiatives aim to use technology to help taxpayers and traders meet their tax obligations voluntarily, increase public trust and confidence in SARS, and to make SARS a lean, integrated, and data-driven organisation through the SARS Modernisation Programme.
• Operationalise our aspiration that “tax just happens” guided by the principles of “Tax Administration 3.0” and “the best service is no service”. The end-state we aim to reach is a seamless taxpayer and trader experience that is clear, simple, easy, and accessible.
• Further the implementation of our revenue management philosophy that conceptualises revenue as made up of revenue from the economy (including tax-policy interventions) and an efficient compliance programme. SARS will continue to explore opportunities to enhance base effects from compliance interventions by executing its compliance programme.
• Build our people capability; strengthen the leadership bench; focus on achieving excellent operations management; implement our enhanced employee value proposition; and finalise organisational arrangements and focus on succession management.

See the full SARS Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2024/25 document here or visit the Annual reports & Strategic plans webpage.

• 7 May 2024 – Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods

• 8 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, 11 May 2024 from 20h00 to 00h30 Sunday, 12 May 2024.

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

Responses (CUSRES messages) to transactions submitted during this time will be delayed.

Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Saturday, 11 May 2024 @ 14h00.

National Treasury

• Provisional Financing figures as at 30 April 2024 – 3 May 2024

OECD

• Surge in oil and gas revenue drove up tax receipts in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022 – 7 May 2024