South Africa: Draft rules for APA program released for public comment
Explanatory note and draft public notices on new advance pricing agreement (APA) program
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on April 30, 2026, released an explanatory note and six draft public notices for public comment relating to the country’s new advance pricing agreement (APA) program.
The draft public notices address the following specific topics related to bilateral APAs (also referred to as double tax agreement (DTA) APAs):
- Persons eligible to apply
- Fees payable by an applicant in an application
- Requirements for rejection of an application
- Requirements for processing an application
- Information to be contained in a preliminary DTA APA
- Procedures and guidelines for the implementation and operation of the DTA APA
Background
South Africa first announced the introduction of an APA programme in 2020 to promote tax certainty for cross-border intragroup transactions and to minimize double taxation. The enabling legislation was introduced in the Income Tax Act in 2023, but the system will only become effective on a date to be published by the Minister in the Government Gazette.
Draft notices
The draft notices outline key features of the program. Access would initially be limited to large taxpayers with significant cross-border transactions—requiring, for example, a minimum annual turnover of R50 billion and a transactional value of at least R1 billion for manufacturing scenarios. The proposals would also exclude certain transactions, such as outbound intragroup services, financial transactions like intragroup loans, and IP-related transactions. The proposed fee structure indicates a minimum cost of at least R1.1 million for an applicant.
Read a May 2026 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in South Africa