Customs

Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2026 & Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2026

On 30 July 2026, National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released a media statement on the publication of the 2026 draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (2026 draft TALAB) and the 2026 draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (2026 draft TALAB) for comment. These draft tax bills contain the tax proposals that were made in the 2026 Budget on 25 February 2026.

The 2026 draft TALAB provides legislative amendments dealing with tax administration announcements made in Annexure C of the 2026 Budget Review, as well as technical corrections. Key tax proposals contained in the 2026 draft TALAB include the following from a Customs & Excise Act, 1964 perspective:

  • Providing an enabling provision relating to Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission carnets (ATA Carnets) 
    • The ATA Carnet system, established under the ATA and Istanbul Conventions, enables the temporary admission of certain goods without the payment of duties or taxes. The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Chamber of Commerce launched an electronic ATA Carnet Project which mandates fully digitised Carnets. Carnets were historically issued in paper format and manually processed at border posts. This amendment is proposed to ensure that South Africa can implement the new electronic requirements.

Amendment to the Act, 1964, to insert a definition, to expressly provide for goods temporarily exported under international carnets and for the SARS Commissioner to prescribe requirements for the use of international Carnets when goods are temporarily imported or exported, including the types of Carnets, the issuing thereof, the validity period and replacement thereof, the manner of submission as well as requirements in relation to release of goods on authority of such carnets; to clarify a provision relating to the claiming of carbon tax refunds which must be administered as refunds in terms of the Act, 1964; to circumscribe the exercise of the SARS Commissioner’s discretion to exempt non-compliance with conditions or requirements in relation to goods admitted under rebate of duty; to make technical corrections.

The Taxation Laws Amendment Bills, 2026 are accessible at:

Key tax proposals contained in the 2026 draft TALAB include the following from a Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 1991 perspective:

Services Rendered to a Customs Controlled Area Enterprise or Special Economic Zone Operator

Applicable provision: Section 11(2)(k) of the VAT Act, 1991.

Background

Section 11(2)(k) of the VAT Act, 1991 provides that VAT must be charged at the rate of zero per cent on the supply of services that are physically rendered elsewhere than in South Africa or to a Customs Controlled Area Enterprise (CCAE) or a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) operator in a customs-controlled area (CCA). 

In terms of section 1(1) of the VAT Act, 1991, the definition of the “Republic” in the geographical sense means the territory of the Republic of South Africa and includes the territorial waters, the contiguous zone and the continental shelf referred to respectively in sections 4, 5 and 8 of the Maritime Zones Act, 1994. 

SEZ is defined in Section 21A of the Act, 1964 as a geographically designated area of a country set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, which are then supported through special arrangements and support systems to promote industrial development. Categories of SEZs that may be designated as such by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (currently known as the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC)) may include: 

• Free ports; 

• Free Trade Zones (FTZs);

• Industrial Development Zones (IDZs); and

• Sector Development Zones (SDZs). 

Section 21A of the Act, 1964 defines a SEZ operator as a holder of a valid SEZ operator permit granted by the Minister of Trade and Industry. It includes personnel of the SEZ operator whom the SEZ operator authorises to perform duties and functions specified in that section. 

Within the area of the IDZ, there will be areas designated by the Commissioner for SARS, in concurrence with DTIC, which will be called CCA, and, as the name indicates, these areas will be under the control of Customs.

In terms of Section 21A of the Act, 1964, CCAE means any person permanently located in a CCA and who is registered or licensed as contemplated in the rules of that section. Several amendments were made to the VAT Act when the original IDZ programme (which was later converted to the SEZ programme) was introduced. As stated in the Explanatory Memorandum of the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, 2003: “The supply of goods by a registered vendor in terms of a sale or instalment credit agreement to a registered vendor in a CCA will be zero-rated if the supplier consigns or delivers the goods [the goods] to the vendor in that area. It is proposed that services physically rendered to a registered vendor in a CCA will also be zero-rated.”

The effect of the proposed provisions is that a vendor in a CCA is afforded VAT treatment similar to that which is afforded to a vendor operating a bonded warehouse.

6.1.2. Reasons for change 

It has come to the Government’s attention that there is confusion about whether all services rendered to a CCAE or an SEZ operator in a CCA are required to be physically rendered therein to qualify for the zero-rating. To some extent, the interpretation is that as long as the services are rendered to a CCAE or an SEZ operator situated in a CCA, those services would still qualify for zero-rating irrespective of where those services are physically rendered, e.g. auditing and information technology services. Accordingly, taxpayers requested that Section 11(2)(k) of the VAT Act, 1991 be amended to clarify the policy position on services rendered in terms of the zero-rating provisions of Section 11(2)(k). 

As indicated above, it has always been the intention of Section 11(2)(k) of the VAT Act, 1991 to zero-rate the supply of services physically rendered to a CCAE or SEZ operator in a CCA.

Proposal

It is proposed that Section 11(2)(k) of the VAT Act, 1991 be reformulated for ease of reference. The proposed amendment does not change the policy intent or substantive effect of the provision.

Effective date 

The proposed amendment will come into effect on the date of promulgation of the Second Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2026.

The ‘Draft Explanatory Memorandum on the Draft 2026 Taxation Laws Amendment Bill’ is accessible at:

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