It is not an advanced April Fool’s joke. On 15 December 2017, Sars announced it would start collecting the Sugary Beverages Levy (SBL) from 1 April 2018. The SBL falls under the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, 2017, as passed in Parliament on 5 December 2017.
The SBL provides for a health promotion levy on sugary beverages which have been manufactured in or imported into South Africa. The levy will be imposed on the imported products when they are cleared for home consumption and for the locally manufactured products the duty will be imposed at source.
Licensing and registration of manufacturers of sugary beverages will take place from February 2018. Only commercial manufacturers that produce sugary beverages with a total annual sugar content in excess of 500 kg per year need to be licensed and pay the SBL. Non-commercial producers below this threshold will be expected to register but will not be subject to the SBL.
The levy is fixed at 2.1 cents per gram of the sugar content that exceeds 4 grams per 100ml, which means the first 4 grams per 100ml are levy free. The levy is part of government’s programme to prevent and control non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and assist in the prevention and control of obesity.
Sars indicated that it would engage industry stakeholders during roadshows to guide them through the process. Dates for the roadshows will be published on the website this month.