South African businesses with import, transport, manufacturing or fuel-related costs should review their accounting and customs controls after SARS published six tariff amendments in Government Gazette 55680 on 6 November 2026. The changes cover fuel levies, diesel refunds, an agricultural import quota and the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP 2).

The amendments are not all effective on the same date. Finance teams should therefore avoid applying a single rate across the full period and should retain supporting records for each effective date.

What changed

SARS has published a temporary reduction in the general fuel levy from 2 December 2026 to 5 January 2027. During this period, the levy is reduced from 410 cents to 310 cents per litre on petrol and from 393 cents to 243 cents per litre on diesel. The related diesel-refund provisions are also adjusted for the same period.

From 6 January 2027, the general fuel levy returns to 410 cents per litre on petrol and 393 cents per litre on diesel, with a corresponding adjustment to the diesel-refund provisions. These dates and rates are set out in notices R.8153, R.8154, R.8155 and R.8156 on SARS’s tariff-amendments page. Read the SARS tariff amendments.

SARS also increased the annual quota for certain frozen bone-in chicken cuts originating in or imported from the United States from 73 881 tonnes to 74 351 tonnes. The amendment applies retrospectively from 1 April 2026. A separate amendment extends the allowable minimum level of local assembly for qualifying semi-knocked-down vehicle kits under APDP 2, with lead-acid batteries excluded from those kits.

Who is affected

  • Transport and logistics businesses: fuel-cost forecasts, fleet budgets and customer pricing may need separate treatment for December, early January and the period from 6 January 2027.
  • Businesses claiming diesel refunds: refund calculations and supporting fuel records should align with the applicable levy period.
  • Importers and distributors: landed-cost calculations, customs entries and inventory costing may be affected by the revised quota treatment or other tariff-related changes.
  • Vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers: APDP 2 eligibility calculations and product classifications should be reviewed with the customs team.

What finance teams should check

First, map every affected transaction to the correct implementation date. A December fuel purchase should not automatically be treated in the same way as a purchase made from 6 January 2027.

Next, review fuel-card, fleet-management and enterprise-resource-planning systems. Check whether levy-inclusive costs flow correctly into general ledger accounts, job costing, inventory, budgets and management reports.

Businesses using diesel-refund claims should reconcile litres purchased, qualifying activities, supplier invoices and supporting logbooks. The change is not a substitute for checking whether a particular activity qualifies for a refund.

Importers should also confirm tariff classifications, quota documentation and customs-entry treatment with their customs advisers. The SARS announcement confirms the amendments, but the detailed notices and the business’s specific facts determine the correct application.

Practical next steps

  1. Download and retain notices R.8153 to R.8158 and circulate the effective dates internally.
  2. Ask the finance or systems team to test fuel and landed-cost calculations across each rate period.
  3. Review open purchase orders, supplier pricing and customer contracts that assume a fixed fuel or import cost.
  4. Reconcile any retrospective quota impact from 1 April 2026 and document the accounting treatment.
  5. Escalate classification, refund or APDP 2 questions before submitting affected declarations or claims.

SARS separately confirmed on 6 November 2026 that its tariff-amendment publication details are available and that the updated customs notices were published in Government Gazette 55680. View the SARS announcement.

Businesses that import or rely heavily on diesel should treat these amendments as a costing-control issue, not only a customs matter. A short review now can reduce the risk of incorrect margins, refund claims or month-end adjustments.