Auto-Assessments At SARS: Convenience, But Still Requires Verification.
For the 2026 filing season, taxpayers selected for auto-assessment will receive notice between 1 and 12 July, before the broader filing period opens for non-provisional taxpayers on 13 July. The aim is to reduce the burden on taxpayers by using information SARS already receives from employers, banks, medical schemes, retirement funds and insurers.
For many salaried taxpayers with straightforward affairs, this is a major convenience. Instead of completing a full return from scratch, they receive an assessment showing whether SARS calculates that they are due a refund, owe tax, or have a zero balance. If the information is correct, no further action is required. Where a refund is due, SARS has indicated that payment can follow relatively quickly, provided banking details are valid.
But convenience does not remove responsibility. Taxpayers should still treat an auto-assessment as something to review. Third-party data can be incomplete or wrong, and SARS may not have all deductible expenses or relevant information. Medical expenses not fully reflected by a medical scheme, retirement annuity contributions, donations, travel claims, rental income, side income, foreign income or investment income could all affect the final tax position.
The safest approach is to check the assessment carefully on eFiling or the SARS MobiApp, confirm that personal and banking details are up to date, and compare the assessment against tax certificates and supporting documents. If anything is missing or inaccurate, the taxpayer should file a return correcting the information rather than leaving the auto-assessment unchanged. This can prevent incorrect charges, missing out on valid refunds, or facing legal penalties. Should you require professional advice in this regard, do not hesitate to contact our offices.
SARS Customs Goes Digital: What Importers and Travellers Need to Know.
SARS is increasingly extending its digital compliance approach beyond income tax and into customs, travel and cross-border trade. Recent changes suggest that border compliance is becoming more data-driven, more immediate and less tolerant of gaps in documentation. From 1 June 2026, SARS launched a new digital Traveller Declaration System, requiring travellers crossing South African borders to submit online customs declarations and declare foreign-registered vehicles.
SARS reported that nearly 39,000 foreign-registered vehicles had already been registered and positioned the reform as part of its broader effort to modernise border controls and curb non-compliance.
This was followed by a related customs rules amendment on the electronic South African Traveller Management System, published on 26 June 2026 and effective from 1 July 2026. SARS is moving border compliance into a pre-declaration environment, where information is captured earlier and can be checked more systematically.
For businesses involved in imports or cross-border trade, the customs environment is also moving quickly. In June, SARS issued several customs and excise updates, including rules relating to advance import payments, invoice and customs worksheet data, and tariff amendments. One notable change is the safeguard duty on certain flat-rolled steel products, set at 52.34% from 12 June 2026 to 11 June 2027, before stepping down to 37.34% and then 22.34% over the following two years.
Importers need to monitor SARS and ITAC updates closely, because changes to tariffs, reporting requirements or documentation rules can affect landed costs, cash flow and audit risk. Small administrative details, such as invoice data or customs worksheets, can have material consequences if they trigger delays, inspections or additional duties. Should you require professional advice in this regard, do not hesitate to contact our offices.
CIPC Moves to Mandatory Case Management.
CIPC has moved further away from email-based submissions, making its Case Management System the mandatory channel for several important processes. This is a practical change for companies, directors, practitioners and advisers who still rely on legacy email addresses when dealing with CIPC. Following the implementation of the Case Management System on 27 March 2026, CIPC formally notified stakeholders that email-based submissions would be discontinued. From 31 May 2026, several email addresses were permanently decommissioned and are no longer monitored, including addresses for complaints, independent reviews, reportable irregularities, section 62 reports and business rescue matters.
The change is more than an administrative update. It reflects CIPC’s wider move toward more structured, trackable digital processes. For users, the benefit should be clearer case logging, more consistent routing and better visibility over the progress of submissions. But it also creates a new compliance risk: if a company or practitioner uses the wrong channel, an important submission may not be received or acted on.
Businesses should therefore review their internal CIPC processes and update any templates, checklists or saved contact details that still refer to old email addresses. Directors, company secretaries and advisers should also ensure that staff know when and how to use the Case Management System, particularly for sensitive matters such as complaints, legal documents, business rescue filings and statutory correspondence.
Cross-Border Payments: A New Compliance Frontier for Digital Business.
The South African Reserve Bank has signalled closer scrutiny of cross-border payment facilitators, reflecting the rapid growth of digital commerce and offshore merchant activity. This is an important development for fintechs, payment providers, online platforms and businesses that process payments across borders. SARB has noted an increase in cross-border payment facilitator activity. Under these arrangements, payment transactions are aggregated and acquired in South Africa for offshore merchants selling goods or services, including digital products.
These payment facilitators are not themselves acquirers, but operate through sponsorship arrangements with authorised domestic acquirers. SARB has highlighted that, while these arrangements are already active in the market, payment facilitators are not currently regulated in South Africa.
The concern is not only technical. Cross-border payment structures can create gaps in oversight where local payment systems are used to process transactions for offshore businesses. This may raise questions around exchange control, anti-money laundering controls, consumer protection, merchant due diligence and the integrity of the national payment system.
SARB’s proposed approach is to bring these facilitators more clearly within the regulatory perimeter. Payment facilitators will be expected to comply with the National Payment System Department’s regulatory requirements, while domestic acquirers that sponsor them are also likely to face stronger obligations to understand and monitor the activities taking place under their arrangements.
Companies using offshore platforms, processing payments for foreign merchants, or operating in fintech and e-commerce should therefore review how payment flows are structured, who carries regulatory responsibility, and whether customer, merchant and transaction data can withstand scrutiny.
