Telling SARS about changes to your VAT details
Which changes a South African VAT vendor and employer must report to SARS, the 21-day limits, and why stale details can hold up refunds and compliance.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa
Businesses change all the time. They move premises, switch banks, rebrand, appoint a new public officer or bookkeeper. Each of those changes gets handled with customers and suppliers, and the letterhead is updated. The one party that often hears last is SARS.
That is a mistake with real costs. SARS sets short time limits for telling it about changes to a business's registered details, and out-of-date details can hold up refunds and spoil the business's tax compliance status. This article covers what a VAT vendor must report and how quickly, the parallel rule for employers, why it matters beyond the rule itself, and how to keep your own documents in step.
The 21-day rule for VAT vendors
SARS's VAT 404 guide for vendors says a vendor must advise SARS within 21 days of any change in its registered particulars. The guide gives examples:
- a change of representative, the person who acts for the vendor with SARS;
- a change of business address;
- a change of banking details;
- a change of trading name;
- the vendor ceasing to trade.
The representative is easy to overlook. When the person who dealt with SARS for the business resigns or retires, the business still has a representative on SARS's records, just the wrong one. Any correspondence, queries or verification requests may then go to someone who no longer works there.
Note that the VAT rule speaks of 21 days, not business days. Weekends and public holidays count. A business that moves at the end of the month and plans to "sort out SARS later" can be out of time sooner than it expects.
The version of the guide quoted is issue 15, up to date as at 17 December 2024. SARS's VAT 404 guide for vendors covers registration, a vendor's ongoing obligations, records and penalties, and is the reference for the full list of what must be reported.
Ceasing to trade has its own consequences beyond the notice itself, covered in cancelling a VAT registration.
The matching rule for employers
If your business is also registered as an employer, a similar rule applies on the payroll side. SARS says an employer must tell SARS within 21 business days of any change in its registered particulars, such as a change of name or address.
That limit is counted in business days, so it is slightly more forgiving than the VAT one. But a single change, such as a move to new premises, usually triggers both. The practical answer is to treat the shorter VAT limit as the deadline for both.
| Registration | Time limit SARS gives | Counted in |
|---|---|---|
| VAT vendor | 21 days | Calendar days |
| Employer | 21 business days | Business days |
SARS's pages give different deadlines for notifying it that you have stopped being an employer, so check that one with SARS directly if it applies.
Why stale details can cost your compliance status
The time limits are only part of the reason to act quickly. SARS says that to be tax compliant, a taxpayer must have no outstanding returns, no outstanding tax debt unless an arrangement or suspension is agreed, registration for every tax it is liable for, and up-to-date registered particulars.
So a business that pays every rand on time and files every return can still fall short of compliance because its address or representative on SARS's records is out of date. Where a tender, a large customer or a bank relies on your compliance status, that is an avoidable problem. How the status works, and where to see it, is covered in what tax compliance status means for a business.
Banking details and VAT refunds
Banking details deserve special attention. SARS says it may withhold a VAT refund until banking details are provided, until all outstanding VAT returns are submitted, or until a verification, inspection or audit of the refund is finalised.
For an exporter, a business that has just bought expensive equipment, or any vendor whose input tax often exceeds its output tax, refunds are part of cash flow. A change of bank that SARS has not been told about can leave a refund sitting with SARS while the business waits. Update banking details with SARS before you close the old account, not after.
Updating the same details on your own documents
Telling SARS is half of the job. The other half is making sure the documents you send customers and staff carry the same details.
In Achekam, a business enters its VAT registration number in Settings under Firm Profile. Documents made by the server print it, and are titled Tax Invoice only when a VAT number is set. The logo, brand colour and company details set under Settings appear on payslips, tax certificates, EMP201 PDFs and documents composed for signature.
That means one update in Settings carries through to every document produced afterwards. It also means an old address left in Settings carries through just as faithfully. When something changes, update SARS and Achekam on the same day:
- List what changed: address, bank, name, representative.
- Notify SARS of each change, for VAT and for payroll if you are an employer.
- Update the company details in Achekam's Settings.
- Produce one test document, such as an invoice, and check that it shows the new details.
- File SARS's confirmation of the change with your records.
A habit worth building
Add "tell SARS" to the checklist for every office move, bank change, rebrand or change of public officer. Do it the same week, update Settings in Achekam at the same time, and check your compliance status a few weeks later to confirm SARS's records have caught up.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
