Below, please find issue 78 of ENSafrica's tax in brief, a snapshot of the latest tax developments in South Africa.

LEGISLATION AND DRAFT LEGISLATION

  • Draft Interpretation Note | Determination of the taxable income of certain persons from international transactions: intra-group loans
    • SARS' views on the application of the transfer pricing rules to thin capitalisation, and to intra-group loans more generally, were last expressed in a draft interpretation note issued in 2013.
    • SARS has published for comment a new draft Interpretation Note which broadly follows the guidance in Chapter X of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations, and addresses some aspects of the interaction of that guidance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1962.
    • Due date for comment on the draft Interpretation Note is 22 April 2022.
    • Find the Draft Interpretation Note here.
    • Find our ENSight article summarising some high-level takeaways from the Draft Interpretation Note here.

SARS PUBLICATIONS

  • Mobile Tax Units | updated schedules published
    • The Mobile Tax Units can be found here.
  • Tax Directives | Trade Testing Dates and Software Implementation
    • SARS will introduce enhancements to the Tax Directives process as indicated in IBIR-006 (Directives Management Interface Requirement Specification). The trade testing dates are still to be confirmed and the implementation of the software is planned for the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year.
    • Find further information here.
  • SMME Traders and Travellers | New Webpage
    • SARS launched the newly established SMME Traders and Travellers webpage. The webpage aims to provide relevant information for SMME Traders and Travellers in a simplified and easily accessible manner.
    • Find the webpage here.
  • SARS Announcement | Postponement of Webinar
    • SARS postponed the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Webinar. The new webinar date and registration process will be announced in due course.
    • Find the announcement here.

CUSTOMS AND EXCISE

  • Customs & Excise Act, 1964 | Trade Statistics for December 2021
    • SARS has released trade statistics for December 2021 recording a preliminary trade balance surplus of ZAR30.14-billion
    • The media release can be found here.
  • Customs & Excise Act | State Warehouse
    • The State Warehouse Policy has been updated. Functionality has been added for the management of goods deposited in the state warehouse and extracting inventory reports.
    • The updated policy can be found here.
  • Customs & Excise Act | Excise Payment and Submission Dates for 2022
    • The 2022 payment dates for excise duty including ad valorem, beer, fuel, wine, vermouth and other fermented beverages, spirits, traditional African beer, tobacco and environmental levy products were published.
    • The excise duty/levy payment and submission dates for 2022 can be found here.
  • Customs and Excise Act | Draft Schedule Amendment
    • The draft schedule amendment inserts note 10 in order to align with similar corresponding refund provisions of malt beer and other fermented beverages.
    • Find a copy here.
  • Customs and Excise Act | Unentered Goods
    • SARS published the customs weekly list of unentered goods.
    • Find a copy here.
  • Customs and Excise Act | Rule Amendment Notice
    • Substitution in item 202.00 of the Schedule to the Rules of the DA 260 tobacco products accounts (DAR228).
    • Find the notice here.
  • Customs and Excise Act | Tariff Amendment Notice R.1748 published in Government Gazette No.45900 of 11 February 2022
    • Insertion of provisional payment of Brazilian exporters.
    • Find the notice here.
  • Customs and Excise Act | Draft Amendment Rules
    • SARS published the draft amendment to rules under section 120 – Kosi Bay for public comment.
    • Due date for comments is 4 March 2022.
    • Find a copy here.
  • Customs and Excise Act | Draft Amendment Rules
    • The draft amendment is proposed in Part 1D of Schedule No. 6.
    • The amendment proposes the insertion of Note 10 in order to align with the similar corresponding refund provisions of malt beer and other fermented beverages.
    • Due date for comments is 9 March 2022.
    • Find a copy here.

INTERNATIONAL

  • The OECD has published the 2022 Global Forum Capacity Building Report
    • The report highlights ten years of successful capacity-building activities to support the global implementation of the two international standards on exchange of information on request (EOIR) and automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI).
    • The report can be found here.
  • The OECD has published the OECD Tax and Development Days 2022
    • OECD will be hosting the Second Tax and Development Days on 16-17 February 2022.
    • More information can be found here.
  • The OECD launched public consultation with the release of a first building block under Pillar One
    • For Amount A of Pillar One, the Inclusive Framework is launching a public consultation that will occur in stages, by releasing secretariat working documents on each building block to obtain feedback quickly and before the work is finalised.
    • Find the consultation document here.
  • The OECD published an update on the MLI signatories
    • Lesotho, Thailand and Vietnam signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the Convention or MLI), becoming the 97th, 98th and 99th jurisdictions to join the Convention.
    • Find a list of signatories here.
  • The OECD published the latest dates for OECD Tax Talks
    • Date: Monday, 21 February 2022 15:30 – 16:30 (CET).
    • Register here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.