The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) has published the synthesized texts of the tax treaties with Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, and the Czech Republic, as impacted by the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). The synthesized texts were prepared on the basis of the reservations and notifications submitted to the Depositary by the respective countries. The authentic legal texts of the treaties and the MLI take precedence and remain the legal texts applicable.
The MLI applies for the 1999 South Africa-Australia tax treaty:
- with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2023; and
- with respect to all other taxes, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2023.
The MLI applies for the 1996 South Africa-Austria tax treaty:
- with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2023;
- with respect to all other taxes levied by South Africa, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2023; and
- with respect to all other taxes levied by Austria, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.
The MLI applies for the 2004 South Africa-Bulgaria tax treaty:
- with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2023;
- with respect to all other taxes levied by South Africa, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2023; and
- with respect to all other taxes levied by Bulgaria, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.
The MLI applies for the 2015 South Africa-Canada tax treaty:
- with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2023; and
- with respect to all other taxes, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2023.
The MLI applies for the 1997 South Africa-Cyprus tax treaty:
- with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2023; and
- with respect to all other taxes, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2023.
The MLI applies for the 1996 South Africa-Czech Republic tax treaty:
- with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2023; and
- with respect to all other taxes, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2023.
Click the following link for the SARS Multilateral Instrument (MLI) webpage, which includes the synthesized texts of South Africa's tax treaties.