On 21 April 2023, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) introduced a new enhanced Tax Compliance Status (TCS) application form to facilitate the consolidation of the Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) and Emigration TCS applications into a single application, referred to as “Approval International Transfer” (AIT).1 The system became effective on 24 April 2023.
Historically, this process required different applications for different purposes and was rather cumbersome. This new streamlined approach would suggest that SARS is listening to taxpayers, tax practitioners, and tax regulatory bodies who have been advocating for a more simplified and “easy-to-understand” approach. This is very relevant for taxpayers wanting to extract funds from South Africa.
When taxpayers apply for a TCS in respect of international transfers, they are required to submit the following supporting documentation:
If taxpayers have questions about the above-described process or need assistance with the completion and submission of the AIT application form in respect of the transferring of funds from South Africa abroad, they should contact their qualified tax professional or a member of the Global Mobility Services & Employment Tax Advisory team with KPMG in South Africa (see the Contacts section).
Moreover, if a taxpayer is non-compliant and has any outstanding tax returns or tax debt, he or she should seek assistance from his or her usual qualified tax professional or from KPMG to help remedy the non-compliance so as to enable the approval of the TCS request.
Associate Director, Global Mobility Services and Employment Tax Advisory
KPMG in South Africa
Footnotes
1 See SARS, "Enhancements to the Tax Compliance Status Process."
Also see: SARS, "Media release – How SARS has changed tax compliance status reporting for transferring funds abroad" (3 May 2023) at: https://www.sars.gov.za/latest-news/media-release-how-sars-has-changed-tax-compliance-status-reporting-for-transferring-funds-abroad/
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