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2026 Legal and Policy

Legal & policy - 16 April 2026

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SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICE (SARS)

  • 9 April 2026 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is reminding all trusts registered in South Africa that, in terms of tax legislation, they are required to submit Income Tax Returns for every year of assessment. This obligation applies even where a trust had no economic activity during the relevant year. Where a trust is no longer being used for its intended purpose, trustees are encouraged to formally terminate the trust through the Office of the Master of the High Court (Master). Once the Master has issued a written confirmation of termination, trustees should request SARS to deregister the trust for income tax purposes. This process assists in preventing the unnecessary imposition of administrative penalties arising from ongoing non-compliance. Although the Trust Property Control Act does not expressly prescribe a deregistration process, the Chief Master issued a directive in 2017 to provide clarity on the procedure to be followed. Importantly, trustees must first establish and regularise the trust’s tax compliance status with SARS before approaching the Master for termination.

Trustees act as representative taxpayers of a trust in terms of the Income Tax Act and are required to ensure that all outstanding tax returns, payments, and related tax obligations are fully resolved prior to requesting termination at the Master and deregistration at SARS. In some instances, SARS may owe a trust a tax refund. Once a trust has been terminated by the Master, it legally ceases to exist, as does the Office of Trusteeship. In such circumstances, SARS is unable to lawfully process or pay any refunds due to the trust. Trustees are therefore urged to follow the correct sequence: first confirm and regularise the trust’s tax affairs with SARS, and only thereafter proceed with termination at the Master. This approach safeguards compliance and protects trustees from potential personal liability. This also ensures that any refunds due to the trust can be processed timeously.

For further information, please contact SARSMedia@sars.gov.za.

  • 9 April 2026 — SARS’s Illicit Economy Strategy targets corruption and fraud in government departments as high-priority focus areas. Through an ex parte application in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria, under section 163 of the Tax Administration Act, SARS has secured a preservation order against two of its former officials, who had resigned from the organisation in 2024 and 2025, respectively. In addition to meeting the statutory threshold prescribed in the Tax Administration Act for granting a preservation order, SARS presented prima facie evidence before the court of non-compliance with the relevant tax laws by two officials, including corruption, money laundering, unauthorised work outside SARS, breach of the SARS secrecy provisions, and abuse of state properties in furtherance of corruption. The court appointed a curator bonis to preserve assets and prevent their dissipation while tax assessments are being finalised.

The preservation order places under curatorship three immovable properties, six vehicles, and multiple bank and investment accounts held across major financial institutions, to prevent their dissipation. Apart from the assets identified by SARS, the curator has been authorised by the High Court to inquire into and locate further assets that have been concealed or placed beyond the reach of SARS. The properties, estimated to be worth several million rand in total, may not be sold or transferred without authorisation, thus securing high-value assets pending the finalisation of tax assessments. The curator has been granted immediate powers to secure, control, manage and, where authorised, dispose of the assets to recover taxes due.

Acting SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu said corruption within the institution would be dealt with swiftly through the adoption of the most severe measures permitted by law. “Corruption by SARS employees, whether former or present, is the worst form of betrayal. It undermines public trust, damages the integrity of our systems, and strikes at the heart of the state’s ability to serve its people”. Dr Makhubu added that the preservation order demonstrates SARS’s commitment to act decisively. “We are acting early, securing assets, and following the money. Where corruption intersects with tax and customs systems, SARS will intervene swiftly and lawfully. No one is above the law, especially those entrusted to enforce it”.

SARS’s Illicit Economy Strategy gives effect to the National Illicit Economy Disruption Programme as announced by the President of South Africa in the State of the Nation Address. The latest action protects the revenue base; combats corruption and criminality within and outside SARS; restores institutional integrity; and delivers visible consequences for non-compliance. SARS is thankful to loyal employees and citizens who, through whistleblowing, have brought this criminality to its attention and enabled the organisation to uncover complex corruption schemes. SARS confirms that further civil, administrative, and criminal processes may follow as investigations progress. SARS urges the public to protect the integrity of our tax and customs systems and report corruption, tax fraud, and related criminal activities through its confidential platform. “The days when employees engage in criminality and opt to resign rather than face the consequences of their wrongdoing are over. Those who think that this method will exculpate them from the consequences of their actions, must know that they’ll be pursued and will be found wherever they are”, Makhubu concluded. For further information, contact SARS at SARSMedia@sars.gov.za.

  • 9 April 2026 – As the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) concludes his seven-year term, we invite messages of appreciation and reflection from colleagues, partners, and stakeholders—locally and internationally. This tribute space recognises the impact of Edward Kieswetter’s stewardship, marking the conclusion of a significant chapter in the journey of SARS and celebrating his lasting legacy in service of South Africa and the international community. Collectively, these messages will convey gratitude and signify the end of an important period of leadership dedicated to South Africa and the global public finance community. Click here to contribute.
  • 13 April 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.
  • 13 April 2026 – In the April 2026 issue we take a closer look at the 2026 Employer Filing Season that is now officially open and runs from 1 April to 31 May 2026.
  • 15 April 2026 – As SARS, we continuously optimise our systems to provide clarity and certainty to taxpayers and traders and make it easy for them to fulfil their tax obligations. These enhancements help to make our digital platforms safer and more secure. Therefore, as per our previous communication, we plan to implement the enhancements to our Tax Directives system on Friday, 17 April 2026 in line with the IBIR-006 Tax Directives Interface Specification Version 6.903. The current scope of the enhancements is outlined below:

· The repeal of section 8A of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 in its entirety, as it has been superseded by section 8C of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962. This change is applicable as of 1 April 2026.

· SARS will introduce the following functionality on the eFiling platform:

    • Outstanding Recognition of Transfer (ROT) reminder statements.
    • Submission of a ROT cancellation request without a requirement to attach supporting documents.
    • Bulk ROT cancellation request, without a requirement to attach supporting documents.
    • A new Report which will detail all previously issued Tax Directives for applications that were submitted on the eFiling platform.
    • A ROT cancellation case enquiry screen to track the status of a ROT cancellation request.

· All outstanding ROT’s up to 1 March 2023 are no longer required and have been deemed exempt from submission.

· The eFiling platform will enable the creation of multiple profiles within an entity for the purposes of Tax Directive application submissions.

· RST01 tax directive (IRP3er) will now display the three-year validity period of the directive.

· Additional fields have been added on the FORM C to provide for the confirmation of residency as well as to enable the application of the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) provisions.

Please do not submit tax directives files using the current form after 16:00 on 17 April 2026. Any files submitted thereafter will be queued and processed once the Tax Directives system upgrade has been completed. SARS values your support and collaboration.

NATIONAL TREASURY

AFRICAN TAX ADMINISTRATION FORUM (ATAF)

SOUTHERN AFRICAN LEGAL INFORMATION INSTITUTE (SAFLII)

OFFICE OF THE TAX OMBUD (OTO)

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)

SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK (SARB)

AuthorLegal and Policy
DivisionTax
Categories
Legal & policy
Date16 April 2026