On 25 March 2024, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) published its 16-page “The DA 180 Environmental Account for Carbon Tax Guide”, which has been revised to:
- Align with the relevant sections of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964.
- Updated the name as well as acronym for the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
- The calculation of net levy payable was amended.
- The document code changed from SE-CBT-03-M01 to SE-CBT-04.
Summary
The purpose of the Guide is to assist business entities that generate carbon emissions liable to carbon tax in South Africa, to complete the DA 180 Environmental Account for Carbon Tax and its Annexures.
Carbon Tax Account Administration
a) The business entity must be registered with the South African Revenue Services (SARS) as an eFiling client in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 before it can submit the annual declaration electronically to SARS.
b) The account information must be submitted to SARS eFiling on the EXD 180 return. The completed and signed DA180 account, with its relevant annexure(s) in hard copy and its supporting documents, must be kept for record purposes for a five (5) year period from the date the document was signed and dated by the business entity [Refer to rule 119A.R101A(10)(d) (a-g)].
c) The ‘Gross Levy Payable’, ‘Nett Levy Payable’, ‘Underpaid/Overpaid’ and ‘Total Amount Payable’ respectively, must all be indicated in rand (R) and cent (C) values on the hard copy as well as on the EXD 180.
d) The DA180 and its annexures for every period must be safely kept in a fireproof safe.
e) A single DA180 with its relevant annexure(s) must be completed as a consolidation of all the emission facilities licensed under the name of the business entity. This means the emissions equivalent of all the emission facilities must be totalled on the DA180 and its relevant annexure(s) according to the corresponding Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) codes.
The “SE-CBT-04 – DA 180 Environmental Account for Carbon Tax - External Guide” is accessible at:
www.sars.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/Ops/Policies/SE-CBT-04-DA180-Environmental-Account-for-Carbon-Tax-External-Guide.pdf