Legal and Policy - 17 August 2023

SARS:

• 16 August 2023 – Income Tax Act, 1962: The following Interpretation Notes were updated:

Interpretation Note 110 (Issue 2) – Leasehold improvements

Interpretation Note 109 (Issue 2) – Lease premiums

Interpretation Note 107 (Issue 2) – Deduction in respect of commercial buildings

• 16 August 2023 – Income Tax Act, 1962: The following Interpretation Notes were archived:

Interpretation Note 110 – Leasehold improvements

Interpretation Note 109 – Lease premiums

Interpretation Note 107 – Deduction in respect of commercial buildings

• 16 August 2023 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991: Reference Guides

• VAT Rulings Process Reference Guide (Issue 2)
• VAT Section 72 Decisions Process Reference Guide (Issue 2)

For ease of reference examples of sanitised VAT rulings templates have been included to assist taxpayers wishing to apply for VAT rulings or section 72 decisions. These templates may be customised accordingly.

• 16 August 2023 – On Thursday, 17 August, the Pinetown branch will open later i.e. from 8:30 instead of 8:00 in the morning due to electrical maintenance by the Mall management. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
• 16 August 2023 – We are aware of an issue being encountered by certain users, the message is ‘Failed to capture details’. Our teams are working on resolving the issue as soon as possible. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

As a workaround Tax Practitioners are advised to manually type the Tax Practitioner Number and not copy and paste it and/or include any spaces in the number.

• 15 August 2023 – RFP13/2023: Appointment of suppliers for supply and delivery of inverters, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels (Alternative energy equipment) for the period of three (3) years.
• 14 August 2023 – RFP29/2023: Appointment of a service provider for the provision of regulatory compliance management software tool
• 14 August 2023 – We have listened to you and made it easier to book an appointment with SARS. The changes include:

You can now book a branch walk-in appointment via the eBooking system, where previously this type of appointment could only be booked through the SARS Contact Centre

Only available timeslots will be displayed from now on, no more ‘timeslot not available’ messages

Booked slots will be automatically cancelled if supporting documents are not uploaded within 24 hours, thereby freeing up timeslots.

Book your appointment with SARS here.

See the updated eBooking Guide: Book your appointment with SARS.

• 11 August 2023 – Value-Added Tax Act, 1991: Value-added tax Notice R.3780​, published in Government Gazette 49104 of 11 August 2023, Amendment of paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 to regulate the exemption of the value-added tax on the importation of arms and ammunition, parts and accessories thereof imported for the purposes of testing and experimenting therewith.
• 11 August 2023 – Awarded Tenders

The updated successful bids document reflecting contract description, bid numbers, names of the successful bidder(s) and preference points claimed is now available.

• 11 August 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, eFiling may be intermittently unavailable on Friday 11 August 2023 from 18:00 until 22:00.

• 11 August 2023 – The SARS branches in Western Cape are open and back to normal after this past week’s taxi strike. Our apologies again for the inconvenience.

NATIONAL TREASURY:

• Media Statement: National Treasury Welcomes Dr Duncan Pieterse as National Treasury Director-General – 10 August 2023