Sars to hold sugar tax roadshows in March

© karen roach – 123RF.com

“Following previous announcements, Sars will embark on regional roadshows to engage industry stakeholders on the implementation of the Sugary Beverages Levy (SBL),” said the revenue service on Monday.

These engagements, which will get underway next month, will be held in major cities around the country starting in Johannesburg on 1 March.

The roadshow will then move to Pretoria on 2 March, followed by Cape Town on 5 March and Port Elizabeth on 6 March.

The engagements will then move to East London on 7 March, followed by Durban on 8 March.

The SBL is a new Health Promotion Levy in support of the Department of Health’s deliverables to decrease diabetes, obesity and other related diseases in South Africa.

It was announced by National Treasury in the February 2016 National Budget Speech and is part of the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, as passed in Parliament on 5 December 2017.

In December, the revenue service announced that it will collect the levy from 1 April 2018.

The levy is fixed at 2.1 cents per gram of the sugar content that exceeds four grams per 100ml, which means the first four grams per 100ml are levy free.

Stakeholders can find more information on the road shows here.