EFFECTIVE DATE

09.11.2010

REFERENCE GUIDE
SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICE
PAYMENT RULES

REFERENCE GUIDE SARS PAYMENT

RULES
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Purpose

This document details the payment rules that must be adhered to when paying the South African
Revenue Service (SARS) in order to facilitate faster and more accurate processing of payments.

Scope

All SARS clients must adhere to the payment rules stipulated in this document when making a
payment. Payments that do not adhere to the payment rules will be rejected.

Clients are requested to consult their service providers regarding the specific banking solutions offered
in order to meet the requirements outlined in this document.

References

3.1 Legislation
TYPE OF REFERENCE
Legislation and rules administered
by SARS:
Other legislation:
International instruments:

REFERENCE
Income Tax Act No 58 of 1962: Section 89, 75B
Value-Added Tax Act No 89 of 1991: Sections 27 and 28
None
None

3.2 Cross references

DOCUMENT #
FIN-GP-02-G1-A1
FIN-GP-02-G1-A2
FIN-GP-02-G1-A3
FIN-GP-02-G1-FAQ1
VDP-GN-02-G1

DOCUMENT TITLE
Payment examples
Swift payment example
Acceptable instruments of payments for non-core taxes
FAQs SARS Payment Rules
External Reference Guide Voluntary Disclosure
Programme

APPLICABILITY
All
All
All
All
All

Definitions and acronyms

ABSA
APT
Client
FAQ
FNB
ID
MPRR
Other taxes and levies
PAYE
PRN
SARS
SARS Core taxes
SBA
SDL
SWIFT Message

TPS
TT
UIF

Amalgamated Banks of South Africa

Air Passenger Tax
Any person or enterprise conducting business with SARS
Frequently Asked Question
First National Bank
Identity
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty
All payments received or administered by SARS which do not fall within the
definition of SARS core taxes.
Pay As You Earn
Payment Reference Number
South African Revenue Service
Income Tax, PAYE, UIF, SDL & VAT
Small Business Tax Amnesty
Skills Development Levy
The Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunication is an
electronic communication method used by banks all over the world to
correspond with each other in a secure and standardised way.
Taxpayer Service
Turnover Tax
Unemployment Insurance Fund

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Value-Added Tax
Voluntary Disclosure Programme
Voluntary Disclosure Unit

VAT
VDP
VDU

Background

Over the past few years SARS and the banking institutions, namely First National Bank (FNB), ABSA,
CitiBank, Standard Bank, Investec, and Nedbank, have been working together to improve and extend
existing payment services offered to clients.

In March 2006, SARS expanded and enhanced its payment options by introducing new payment
channels. This included the introduction of a new beneficiary account ID process at each of the banks.

The following methods are available to clients for the submission of payments:

eFiling;
Electronically using the internet;
At a branch of one of the relevant banking institutions (as defined);
Arranging a debit order; or
At a SARS branch office.

All non-core tax payments must be paid at a SARS branch, except Small Business Tax Amnesty
(SBA), Turnover Tax (TT) and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (MPRR).

All proof of payment(s), in respect of the Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP) refer to VDP-GN02-G1 External reference guide VDP, must be submitted to SARS by:

Posting to the Voluntary Disclosure Unit (VDU);

281 Middel Street
Gramick Office Park
Brooklyn
0181
Placing in the drop box at a SARS Branch, clearly marked VDP; or
Scanning and e-mailing to vdp@sars.gov.za.

Payment options available to SARS clients

6.1 Payment option 1 - using eFiling to make your payment

eFiling is the free, secure electronic tax return and payment submission service offered by SARS to
eliminate the risks and hassles associated with the submission of manual tax returns and payments.

The service offers the web-based capture of certain individual returns, as well as facilities for the
submission of multiple returns.

SARS eFiling also provides far more convenient, reliable and accurate electronic payment facilities.

SARS eFiling is supported by the following banking institutions, namely, FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank,
Investec, Citibank and Nedbank.

Visit www.sarsefiling.co.za for more information.

6.2 Payment option 2 - using the internet to make electronic payments

Payments can be made directly to SARS using the internet banking services offered by FNB, ABSA,
Standard Bank, Nedbank, CitiBank, and Mercantile Bank. It is imperative that the correct payment
reference information is provided in all instances to ensure that tax payments are easily identified and
correctly allocated by SARS.

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The following two items are essential to ensure that payments are processed correctly:

SARS beneficiary account ID; and

A 19-digit bank payment reference number. This tells SARS exactly who the client is and
enables the allocation of such payment to a specific tax/duty type and period.

In order to improve account validation rules, SARS bank account numbers have been replaced with
unique beneficiary account IDs. This effectively means that clients and traders will no longer be able to
view/add SARS bank account numbers but must instead make use of the banks preconfigured
beneficiary account ID listing to create SARS as a beneficiary.

Up until this point, the 19-digit payment reference number has been determined by specifying the tax
account, tax type and tax period for which the payment is being made, according to the format
specified below. In most instances, separate payments were required if the payment was for different
tax types and tax periods to ensure that payments were correctly allocated within the different tax
accounts.

SARS is progressively replacing this referencing approach with a more efficient and simplified process
which allows for different tax types to be paid using the same unique payment reference number
(referred to as a PRN). This process involves the introduction of a new payment form on which the
various taxes are specified. Each payment form comes with a unique 19-digit PRN which is generated
by SARS and must be quoted when making a payment.

This new process currently applies only to administrative penalties and employees tax
(PAYE/UIF/SDL). All payment forms issued by SARS for these taxes, such as the ITP34, the
Statement of Account, and the new EMP201, include a unique PRN that must be quoted when paying
the taxes specified on the particular payment form.

In the case of employees tax, the new EMP201 form acts as the payment form with each EMP201
containing a unique PRN. This requires that only one payment be made for PAYE, UIF and SDL, as
opposed to three separate payments as was the case previously. This new payment process was
effective from 20 March 2010. Please visit www.sars.gov.za > tax types > Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for
more information on the Employees Tax Season filing and payment process. You can also refer to
FIN-GP-02-G1-FAQ1 for a list of FAQs developed to assist you through the process.

Any payment made in respect of an old format EMP201 submitted to SARS prior to 20 March 2010,
must be made using 00000000 as the period. Only one payment is required into the SARS-PAYE
bank account.

When paying interest and penalties relating to a specific EMP201, use the PRN relating to that
EMP201. SARS will allocate the payment to interest and penalties according to the period(s) to which
the EMP201 relates.

If payment is made at the same time as submission of the EMP201, employers are required to
increase the value of the payment by the interest and penalties. This means that the payment
will exceed the value of the EMP201; or
If paying after submission of the EMP201, for instance on receipt of the Statement of Account,
use the PRN listed on the EMP201 to which the interest and penalties relate.

In the case of tax and duty types other than administrative penalties and employee taxes, the old
payment reference number must still be used. This reference number is made up as follows:
10 digits

1 digit

8 digits

Tax/duty reference number

Tax/duty type identifier

Tax/duty period being paid

The first 10 digits relate to the clients tax/duty reference number. This number ensures that the
payment will be credited to the correct clients tax/duty account. In the case of Customs and Air

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Passenger Tax payments, the first two digits relate to the branch office code and 00
respectively. The remaining eight digits, in both instances, is the customs code.
The 11th digit refers to the tax type. This character will vary depending on the type of tax the
client is paying. For example V stands for VAT, and P stands for Provisional Tax. The table
below lists all the tax types which can be paid at a one of the relevant banking institutions.
The last 8 digits refer to the period for which the payment is being made. The date format used
is ddmmyyyy. The date used is dependent on the tax/duty type being paid. In most instances
the taxes are not day specific, and only require that the month and year are specified. In this
instance, the first two digits of the date format must be 00. In the case of assessed tax, all
fields will be zeros. Please view the table below for the specific date formats per tax/duty type.
In the case of Other Taxes & Levies, such as SBA payments which are not period-based, the
last eight digits represent an account type. In the case of the Small Business Amnesty this is
00000153.
In the case of Other Taxes & Levies, such as MPRR payments which are not period-based,
the last eight digits represent an account type. In the case of the MPRR this is 00000155.

The following table lists all the relevant banking institution tax types, beneficiary IDs and date
references for the purposes of compiling the 19-digit payment reference number:
Tax type
indicator

Tax types

Date
format

Beneficiary IDs applicable to FNB,

ABSA, Standard Bank and Nedbank

Assessed Tax

00000000

SARS-ITA

Provisional Tax

00mmyyyy

SARS-PROV

Turnover Tax

00mmyyyy

SARS-PROV

Retirement Fund Tax

00mmyyyy

SARS-RFT

Secondary Company Tax

Ddmmyyyy

SARS-STC

Employees Tax (PAYE/UIF/SDL)

Payments made in respect of
EMP201s submitted PRIOR to 20
March 2010
L

00000000

SARS-PAYE

VAT

00mmyyyy

SARS-VAT

Diesel

00mmyyyy

SARS-DSL

Customs

Ddmmyyyy

SARS-CUS

Air Passenger Tax

Ddmmyyyy

SARS-APT

Small Business Amnesty

00000153

SARS-OTH

Mineral and Petroleum Resources

Royalties
X

00000155

SARS-OTH

New PRN payment process

Administrative penalties

Unique 19-digit PRN appearing on

the relevant payment form

SARS-ITA

Employees Taxes (PAYE/UIF/SDL)

Unique 19-digit PRN appearing on

the relevant payment form

SARS-PAYE

Note 1: Where the payment is in the form of an installment, the tax type indicator should be replaced with an I.

Without these details, SARS will not be able to recognise the clients tax/duty payment and hence
credit the clients account.

Note: Although payments are made through the relevant banking institution, the returns must still be
submitted to the SARS office on time.
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6.3 Payment option 3 - bank payments (at one of the relevant banking institutions)

Any payment can be made at any FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank or Nedbank branch. These payments
must comply with the same payment referencing requirements used for Internet payments (see
payment option 6.2 above). Banks require the following information in order to accept and process
SARS payments:

SARS tax form/payment advice containing the 19-digit payment reference number to comply
with the requirements listed above (in 6.2) and the tax type that the depositor intends paying.
The amount due.

In order for SARS to process the clients payment in a timely and accurate manner, it is imperative that
the correct information is supplied to the bank when making over-the-counter payments. The bank
will reject all payments which do not conform to the payment reference criteria listed above.
Please note that the SARS tax form/payment advice stipulates the information needed to initiate the
deposit.

All payments (other than Customs and APT) can be made at any FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank or
Nedbank branch. Currently Customs and APT payments can only be made at FNB branches.

Note: Cheque payments must be made out to South African Revenue Service (no abbreviation allowed),
in any of the official languages. Refer to FIN-CH-L20 Not Transferable cheque payments on
www.sars.gov.za > All Publications > Payments to SARS for more information

6.4 Payment option 4 - making a debit order payment

Amounts relating to the VAT 201 return will be automatically withdrawn from the clients bank account
if he/she has given SARS authorisation for a debit order.

Debit orders made at SARS will not be activated in respect of eFiling. Once registered for eFiling, any
debit order made with SARS will be automatically cancelled. The client must then initiate a new debit
order arrangement with eFiling. Clients should contact the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 SARS
(7277) or visit www.sarsefiling.so.za for more information in this regard.

The debit order arrangement will remain in force until a written request for cancellation is received
from the client.

Amounts due in respect of assessments or underpayments as a result of the levying of penalty and
interest on late withdrawals can also be withdrawn in this manner from the clients account provided
that he/she has given SARS a written authorisation to do so. Amounts will be withdrawn from the
relevant banking account on the last business day of the month if the return was submitted in the
prescribed period.

6.5 Payment option 5 - payment at a SARS branch office

Payment can be made during Cash Hall office hours at any SARS branch office. For ease of
processing, clients should ensure that the tax form/payment advice indicating the taxpayer reference
number, tax type and tax period is attached to all payments.

In the case of employee tax payments, the new EMP201 must be attached to the payment so that it
can be processed.

Note 1: The new EMP201 is compulsory and must accompany future payments. The old EMP201 form is
defunct and will no longer be accepted by SARS. With effect from 1 July 2010, employers would not have
fulfilled their PAYE responsibilities if the defunct EMP201 declaration form is used. SARS will return any
defunct EMP201, and penalties and interest will be strictly applied on employers that do not make
submissions on time using the newly prescribed EMP201 form and requisite unique payment reference
number.
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If the new EMP201 form is submitted, the client will receive one receipt with the total amount declared.
The receipt will show the amounts declared in respect of PAYE, UIF and SDL.

If the client requires a copy of the new EMP201 form, it is the clients responsibility to make a copy of
the form prior to submission.

With effect from 20 March 2010 onwards, clients must use the new EMP201 form to make corrections
where incorrect payments were made in respect of PAYE, UIF and SDL. Corrections for payments
made prior to 20 March 2010 must be requested in writing.

As of 1 April 2010, Taxpayer Service branch offices do not receive cash payments.

Customs and excise cash payments are however still accepted at Customs branch offices.

Note: SBA and MPRR cannot be paid at any SARS branch.

6.6 Foreign payments

Payments can continue to be made electronically into the SARS banking accounts using the standard
SWIFT payment method.

In accordance with the new beneficiary ID process, use the following beneficiary account ID/account
number when paying SARS from outside South Africa:

SARS-FOR-999

SARS-FOR-999 must be used as the bank account number when completing a SWIFT 103 message.
To view an example of a completed SWIFT instruction, refer to FIN-GP-02-G1-A2 SWIFT Message
Example.

SARS's foreign payments continue to be administered solely by FNB.

As in the case of all electronic payments, it is imperative that the correct payment reference
information is provided to ensure that payments can be easily identified and correctly allocated upon
receipt by SARS. The standard payment rules (see 6.2 above) for compiling the 19-digit payment
reference number for electronic payments apply.

This procedure applies to all tax, duty or levy payments (such as Assessed Tax, VAT, PAYE and
Customs) made to SARS from outside South Africa.

QUALITY RECORDS

Number
APT201
APT217
APT217A
APT301
EMP201
EMP206
EMP213
EMP217
EMP3(P)
IB/IT158
IB/IT34
IB/IT56
IB/IT56A
IB/IT88

Title
Return
Revised Assessment
New Assessment
Statement of Account
Monthly Employer Declaration (New)
Notice of Installment
Acknowledgement of payment
Notice of assessment
Final demand of payment
Notice of installment payment payable
Tax Assessment
Return for payment of Secondary Tax on Companies
Draft Assessment for payment of Secondary Tax on Companies
Notice to Agent / Employer to Pay Outstanding Tax

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Number
IB/IT93
IB/IT94
IB/IT96
IRP6
IRP6(3)
IRP6D
IRP7
ITA34
ITA88
ITP34
MPR2
RFT1
RFT1(A)
RFT17
RFT2
RFT2(A)
RFT3
RFT3(A)
RFT94
TT02
VAT201
VAT206
VAT207
VAT213
VAT217
VAT3

Title
Statement of Account
Final demand for outstanding tax
Arrangement for Deferred Payment
Return for provisional tax
Payment advice for additional provisional tax
Notification of final estimate for provisional tax
Final demand for the submission of the IRP 6 provisional tax return
Income Tax Assessment Notice
Income Tax Appoint as Agent
Income Tax Penalty Assessment Notice
Payment Advice for Mineral and Petroleum Resources Payment(s)
Return for first provisional tax payment
Assessment Estimated amount payable for first provisional tax on retirement funds
Allocation Provisional Tax: Notification of penalty / interest allocated from remittance
Return for second provisional tax payment
Assessment Estimated amount payable for second provisional tax on retirement funds
Return for payment of tax
Assessment for tax on retirement funds
Demand Notice of outstanding tax on retirement funds
Payment Advice for Turnover Tax
Return for payment / Refund for VAT
Notice of instalment
Cancellation of deferred payment
Acknowledgement of payment (bank details will be printed on this form)
Notice of assessment
Final demands for payment

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

Designation
Business owner:
Policy owner:
Author:
Detail of change from previous
revision:

Template number and revision

Name / Division
Executive: Office of Strategy Management
Executive: Enterprise Business Enablement (EBE)
T. Klassen
Revision 0 Initial Release Converted to new template, and old EMP201
form defunct from 01 July 2010 (01-07-2010)
Revision 1 Inclusion of MPRR, TT, VDP payments, and eFiling supported
by Citibank. (09.11.2010)
POL-TM-07 - Rev 3

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