SARS launches forum to strengthen relations with big corporates & drive tax compliance

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has formally launched the Large Business Forum, which brings together key taxpayers from various sectors.

The aim is to strengthen partnerships and drive voluntary compliance, SARS says in a statement.

The Revenue Service notes that the entire Large & International Business Segment (L&IB) collectively contributed R600 billion in the 2024-2025 financial year.

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Stephen Grootes talks to Natasha Singh, L&IB director, who also highlights the contribution of South Africa’s largest corporate taxpayers to the fiscus, through SARS.

"Large businesses are the most significant contributors to the fiscus and, in the case of SARS, contribute about one third of our total taxes collected."

Singh explains that the Revenue Service has a differentiated service offering and compliance model to suit this taxpayer segment, which the new Forum forms part of.

She emphasizes that, just as large businesses contribute significant revenue when they comply, so they also present the highest risk to the fiscus when they don't comply as taxpayers.

The model SARS focuses on is relationship-based she says, with a dedicated relationship manager as the point of entry.

"To add to this, the just-launched Forum is one of the many offerings in this segment that defines the differentiated service model that we're introducing. It allows us the opportunity to engage proactively on matters of common interest on the unique issues that impact large business compliance."

The Forum is a strategic platform, she says, to enable 'mature, honest and purposeful dialogue' between SARS and senior leadership of large businesses across sectors.

Scroll up to the audio player to hear more detail from the SARS director