What’s New at SARS

20 January 2022 – The latest SMME Connect newsletter issue one deals with a few topics including a smarter SARS making compliance easier, beginning with the essentials and SARS’s continued commitment to increase clarity and certainty.

20 January 2022 – National Legislation: The following Amendment Acts were promulgated on 19 January 2022:

• Act No 19 of 2021 – Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act, 2021
  (GG 45786 – 19/01/2022) [was B21—2021, tabled on 11/11/2021; passed (unchanged) by NCOP on 15/12/2021]
• Act No 20 of 2021 – Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2021
  (GG 45787 – 19/01/2022) [was B22—2021, tabled on 11/11/2021; amended B22B—2021 passed by NCOP on 15/12/2021]
• Act No 21 of 2021 – Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2021
  (GG 45788 – 19/01/2022) [was B23—2021, tabled on 11/11/2021; passed (unchanged) by NCOP on 15/12/2021]

19 January 2022 – Amendment made to Tariff heading 3006.93, now needs to be detained for Port Health. See the Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list.

19 January 2022 – The SARS Benoni branch at 65 Howard street, Benoni will be closing on 21 January 2022 and reopening at Lakeside Mall, Shop E006 (Dischem entrance), Benoni on 24 January 2022.

All current services will be offered at the new location via appointment.

19 January 2022 – Where a pensioner has one source of income during a tax year, our employees’ tax (PAYE) deduction system ensures the correct PAYE deductions from their pension or annuity.

However, where a pensioner is in receipt of more than one source of income, the different sources of income are combined at the end of the tax year to determine the correct amount of tax due.  By adding all the sources of income, they are placed in a higher tax bracket, which creates the tax due to SARS at year-end.  This is not a new principle and it applies to everyone, not only pensioners.

Although pensioners can request their retirement fund administrator to deduct a higher amount of PAYE so that any tax due at year-end is adequately covered, not many pensioners are making use of this option, which then leaves them with an unexpected tax debt at year-end.

To assist pensioners with more than one source of income, recently introduced legislation makes provision for SARS to determine a more accurate PAYE deduction amount. We do this by using the latest data available to SARS.  Your retirement fund administrator will then deduct a more accurate amount of PAYE from your pensions or annuities.

It is our intention to introduce this service with effect from 1 March 2022.

In practice, this will mean the following:

1. You do not have to do anything, because SARS will provide your retirement fund administrator with the PAYE deduction percentage;
2. For pensions or annuities payable during March 2022 and for the periods thereafter, your retirement fund administrators will use this rate to deduct PAYE from your pension or annuity;
3. The rate provided by SARS will be valid for the whole tax year, unless circumstances that influence your year-end tax liability change. In such a case, your retirement fund administrator may revert to applying the normal PAYE deduction rate, with effect from the month in which he/she becomes aware of the change in circumstances;
4. The PAYE deducted from your pension may be slightly higher, but in return, you are unlikely to be faced with an unexpected tax bill at the end of the tax year;
5. You may, at any time, request your retirement fund administrator or continue with an arrangement to deduct PAYE at a rate higher than the rate provided by SARS;
6. You may also request your retirement fund administrator to use the normal PAYE deduction rate, and not the one provided by SARS. This may put you back into a position where you can expect a high tax bill at year-end.

Your retirement fund administrator is already aware of all the above.

18 January 2022 – 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

14 January 2022 – We are on an exciting journey to build “a smart modern SARS with unquestionable integrity, trusted and admired by all”. Our mandate is to ensure optimal compliance with tax and Customs legislation. We do this through fostering a culture of Voluntary Compliance and by making it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply with their legal obligations. Click here for more information and to apply. 

14 January 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964

• Draft amendment to the rules under section 64E – accreditation

Due date for public comment: 4 February 2022

11 January 2022 – Effective 1 January 2021, South African banks no longer accept cheques.  All references to cheques in the Customs policy, Standard Operating Procedure and the Completion of the DA 70 annex have been removed. The Manual for the Completion of the DA 70 (SC-CF-32) is now published as SC-CF-25-A01. For more information see the Customs Provisional Payments policy.

10 January 2022 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Rule amendment notice R1648, as published in Government Gazette 45702 on 31 December 2021, relates to the amendment to rules under sections 75 and 120 – Substitution of rule 75.00 relating to the registration of rebate users affected by amendments of items, tariff headings or subheadings in Schedule No’s. 3 or 4 (DAR227)

6 January 2022 – The SARS Nigel branch is closed this afternoon and will reopen tomorrow morning. All virtual appointments will continue as agreed. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

6 January 2022 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is saddened to note the passing yesterday evening of its first Commissioner, Mr Trevor van Heerden. He was a skilled and dedicated civil servant who committed more than forty years of his life to SARS and one of its predecessors, Inland Revenue.

Mr Van Heerden played an instrumental role in the establishment of SARS as we know it today. He was also deeply involved in the development of the taxation of fringe benefits and the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991.

Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, on behalf of SARS, expresses his deepest condolences to the Van Heerden family. He wishes the family strength during this difficult time.

For more information, contact [email protected]

4 January 2022 – The ePenalty pilot focussed on the submission of advance loading and arrival cargo reports for imported goods in the sea and air modalities, as well as on export goods in the rail modality. The purpose was to provide cargo reporters with specific details of potential non-compliance on cargo reporting for them to take remedial action before monetary penalties are imposed. Following the conclusion of the pilot, engagements with affected stakeholders highlighted the need to receive additional ePenalty compliance letters to aid in further identifying potential shortcomings in the reporting of cargo by trade.

SARS is committed to make it easy for traders to comply with their obligations and to work with them to improve their reporting compliance. As a result, it has been decided to extend the ePenalty pilot to 31 March 2022.

For more information see the Letter to Trade on the extension of ePenalty.

31 December 2021 – The 2022 Key Collection Dates and Important Dates were updated on the website. For the detail, see the monthly calendar.

31 December 2021 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariff amendment notice R1649, as published in Government Gazette 45702 on 31 December 2021, are now available.

30 December 2021 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: The tariff amendment notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the amendments to –

• provisional payments in relation to anti-dumping duty against the alleged dumping of frozen bone-in portions of fowls of the species Gallus Domesticus, classifiable in tariff heading 0207.14.9, originating in or imported from Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland and Spain – ITAC Minute 12/2021.

Publication details will be made available later

28 December 2021 – SARS today released trade statistics for November 2021 recording a preliminary trade balance surplus of R35.83 billion attributable to exports of R162.79 billion and imports of R126.96 billion.

See the full Media Release here.

Or visit the Trade Statistics webpage.

24 December 2021 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for correction notice R1645, as published in Government Gazette 45696 on 24 December 2021, are now available.

23 December 2021 – Customs & Excise Act, 1964: The correction notice, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relates to the amendments to –

• Part 3 to Schedule No. 2, by the deletion of the word “stainless” where it appears in Notices Nos. R. 1589, R. 1590 and R. 1591 of Government Gazette 45617 dated 10 December 2021 (with retrospective effect from 10 December 2021).

Publication details will be made available later

23 December 2021 – National Legislation: The Minister of Finance tabled the following bills in the National Assembly on 11 November 2021:

• Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill [B21—2021]
• Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B22—2021]
• Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B22A—2021] (30 November 2021)
• Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B22B—2021] (30 November 2021)
• Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill [B23—2021]