Legal & policy - 12 February 2026

SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICE (SARS)

• 6 February 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962
  • Binding Private Ruling 424 – Interest incurred on loan funding used to redeem preference shares and settle dividends
• 9 February 2026 – In an effort to increase the compliance levels of trusts, SARS has issued final demands to trusts who did not submit an annual tax return for the 2024 and 2025 years of assessment. In terms of section 210(2) of the Tax Administration Act, SARS will shortly issue the related public notice for the imposition of administrative non-compliance penalties for trusts.  It is important that those in receipt of such final demands as referred to above, take steps to correct the non-filing of the annual income tax returns within the period before the administrative penalties will be raised. SARS notes that, subsequent to the issuance of the final demand, several trusts have already taken steps towards improving their tax compliance. SARS supports and appreciates these efforts. It is reiterated that all trusts, whether economically active or passive, are required to submit annual income tax returns in accordance with the requirements set out in the public notice. This obligation is an operation of law and is applicable to every registered resident trust (without exception) and certain qualifying non-resident trusts.

 SARS emphasises that the responsibility for obtaining, maintaining, and updating accurate trust information rests exclusively with the trustees. This includes the initiation of de-registration processes for trusts that meet the applicable criteria. The trustees must undertake these actions for compliance with statutory requirements and adherence to proper governance practices. This will assist SARS to ensure that the trust tax register is up to date. Trustees bear sole responsibility for ensuring that all trust information reflected on the SARS Registration, Amendments and Verification (RAV) system is up to date and properly maintained.

• 9 February 2026 – The state provides state warehouses for the safekeeping of goods. These are managed by Customs. The purpose of this list of unentered goods is to notify the importer, exporter and any other person that has interest in the goods that the goods have been taken up into the State warehouse and if they remain unentered they will be disposed in accordance with the provisions of the Customs & Excise Act.

See the latest Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods here.

• 9 February 2026 – Tax Administration Act, 2011, and Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000
  • Ferreiria v CSARS (2024/067035) [2026] ZAGPPHC 47 (2 February 2026)

Section 164(3) of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA) – Pay Now Argue Later – Section 9 reconsideration request – Section 6(2)(f) of Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA) –  whether SARS, acting under section 9 and section 164 of the TAA, and subject to review under section 6 of PAJA, acted lawfully and fairly when it refused to suspend the taxpayer’s obligation to pay the disputed tax debt despite the taxpayer offering substantial security through his TMM shareholding.

• 10 February 2026 – Beware of a PDF letter being emailed to people with the email subject line ‘ATTACHED SARS SUMMON AGAINST YOU’. Scams are changed on a regular basis so the subject line may differ. The letter contains a link to a fraudulent phishing website. Please do not click on any links. You should always type in the SARS eFiling address in your browser or click on the eFiling login from the SARS website homepage (sars.gov.za). If in doubt, go to our Scams and Phishing webpage where we will publish some examples or forward the suspicious email to phishing@sars.gov.za.

• 11 February 2026 – Originally, we communicated that trade testing would commence on 9 February 2026 and conclude on 12 March 2026. However, due to unforeseen technical difficulties, we regret to inform you that the ISV trade testing will now commence from the 2 March 2026 and conclude on the 15 April 2026. We understand the inconvenience this delay might cause and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these technical challenges. The final software implementation is planned for April 2026.

• 11 February 2026 – This issue reminds Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to submit outstanding returns, pay any tax due, and use available incentives. Qualifying businesses are also encouraged to register for Turnover tax and we look at the updated guide to supply of electronic services by foreign suppliers.

NATIONAL TREASURY

• Media statement: IMF IV report 2025 – 11 February 2026
• SA IMF staff report for 2025 Art IV consultation – 11 February 2026 

SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL INFORMATION INSTITUTE (SAFLII)

• Lutzkie v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (1135/2023) [2026] ZASCA 11 (6 February 2026) - 6 February 2026
• Ferreira v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (2024/067035) [2026] ZAGPPHC 47 (2 February 2026) – 6 February 2026  

AFRICAN TAX ADMINISTRATION FORUM (ATAF)

• ATAF advances African perspectives on VAT and the digital economy at the OECD Globa Forum on VAT – 4 February 2026 
• ATAF and the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) deepen collaboration on revenue forecasting and tax analysis – 4 February 2026 
• ATAF releases African perspective on side-by-side changes to global minimum tax – 6 February 2026
• What’s next for ATAF members in 2026 – 11 February 2026