Global Daily Tax News, South Africa To Introduce E-Invoicing Mandate From 2030, (Aug 20, 2026)

The South African Revenue Service has released a new VAT Modernisation Consultation Paper on the future implementation of an e-invoicing mandate.

The consultation outlines proposals for mandatory e-invoicing requirements and the secure transmission of transaction data, including in near real-time to the tax authority.

The tax agency is proposing that taxpayers will be required to issue electronic invoices in a standardized format using appropriate accounting software. Taxpayers will be required to engage an accredited "Interoperability Framework" service provider from a list published by the Network Authority. This service provider will then validate and clear invoices. Data will then be transmitted to SARS to be used for risk management and processing.

The tax agency has proposed that the e-invoicing framework will be implemented over a period of four to six years. Year one, which is expected to commence in 2026/2027, will involve preparation. Year two will involve the development of the technical solution, as well as the promulgation of VAT regulations, while year three will involve validation and testing. A pilot will be launched in the fourth year, SARS has proposed, followed by phased implementation in years four through six.

On implementation, SARS said: "Large taxpayers are expected to adopt voluntarily at first, with mandatory adoption introduced later. Voluntary participation by any sector or size of business will be available. The order in which implementation will follow for specific segments or sectors of the economy may change in this phase subject to ease of adoption, risk of compliance, VAT gap indications and other factors. Implementation is expected to commence during the 2030 calendar year and extend over approximately 36 months," the consultation states.

The consultation says an e-invoicing mandate will be introduced first for large taxpayers, for B2B supplies, and would later be expanded to business-to-government supplies. In two subsequent phases, the requirements would be expanded to micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, followed by business-to-consumer supplies.

Feedback is being sought on the proposal by October 16, 2026.