70. Disclosure to other entities
(1) A senior SARS official may provide to the Director-General of the National Treasury taxpayer information or SARS confidential information in respect of-
(a) a taxpayer which is an-
(i) institution referred to in section 3(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999); or
(ii) entity referred to in section 3 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003),
to the extent necessary for the Director-General to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the National Treasury under those Acts; and
(b) a class of taxpayers to the extent necessary for the purposes of tax policy design or revenue estimation.
(2) A senior SARS official may disclose to-
(a) the Statistician-General the taxpayer information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Statistician-General’s duties to publish statistics in an anonymous form;
(b) the Chairperson of the Board administering the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, the name and address of the employer of a person to whom a loan or bursary has been granted under that scheme, for use in performing the Chairperson’s functions under the National Student Financial Aid Scheme Act, 1999 (Act No. 56 of 1999);
(c) a commission of inquiry established by the President of the Republic of South Africa under a law of the Republic, the information to which the Commission is authorised by law to have access;
(d) to an employer (as defined in the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act) of an employee (as defined in the Fourth Schedule), but only the income tax reference number, identity number, physical and postal address of that employee and such other non-financial information in relation to that employee, as that employer may require in order to comply with its obligations in terms of a tax Act; and
(e) a recognised controlling body (as defined in section 239) of a registered tax practitioner, such information in relation to the tax practitioner as may be required to verify that sections 240A(2)(a) and 240A(3) are being given effect to.
(f) the Department of Labour, the name and contact details of all employers registered for employees’ tax and eligible to receive the employment tax incentive in terms of section 2 of the Employment Tax Incentive Act, 2013.
(3) A senior SARS official may disclose to-
(a) the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, or other person to whom the Minister delegates powers, functions and duties under the Regulations issued under section 9 of the Currency and Exchange Act, 1933 (Act 9 of 1933), the information as may be required to exercise a power or perform a function or duty under the South African Reserve Bank Act, 1989 (Act 90 of 1989), or those Regulations;
[Paragraph (a) substituted by section 25 of Act 24 of 2020]
(b) the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, the information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s duties and functions under the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act 9 of 2017);
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 18(1) of Act 22 of 2018 effective on 1 April 2018.]
(c) the Financial Intelligence Centre, the information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Centre’s duties and functions under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act 38 of 2001);
[Paragraph (c) amended by section 27(a) of Act 18 of 2023]
(d) the National Credit Regulator, the information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Regulator’s duties and functions under the National Credit Act, 2005 (Act 34 of 2005); and
[Paragraph (d) amended by section 27(b) of Act 18 of 2023]
(e) the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, the information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Commission’s duties and functions under the Companies Act, 2008 (Act 71 of 2008);
[Paragraph (e) added by section 27(c) of Act 18 of 2023]
(f) the Directorate for Nonprofit Organisations, the information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Directorate’s duties and functions under the Nonprofit Organisations Act, 1997 (Act 71 of 1997); and
[Paragraph (f) added by section 27(c) of Act 18 of 2023]
(g) the Master as defined in section 1 of the Trust Property Control Act, 1988 (Act 57 of 1988), the information as may be required for the purpose of carrying out the Master’s duties and functions under that Act.
[Paragraph (g) added by section 27(c) of Act 18 of 2023]
(4) A senior SARS official may disclose to an organ of state or institution listed in a regulation issued by the Minister under section 257, information to which the organ of state or institution is otherwise lawfully entitled to and for the purposes only of verifying the correctness of the following particulars of a taxpayer:
(a) name and taxpayer reference number;
(b) any identifying number;
(c) physical and postal address and other contact details;
(d) employer’s name, address and contact details; and
(e) other non-financial information as the organ of state or institution may require for purposes of verifying paragraphs (a) to (d).
(5) The information disclosed under subsection (1), (2) or (3) may only be disclosed by SARS or the persons or entities referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (3) to the extent that it is-
(a) necessary for the purpose of exercising a power or performing a regulatory function or duty under the legislation referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (3); and
(b) relevant and proportionate to what the disclosure is intended to achieve as determined under the legislation.
[Subsection (5) substituted by section 48 of Act 23 of 2015 effective on 8 January 2016]
(6) SARS must allow the Auditor-General to have access to information in the possession of SARS that relates to the performance of the Auditor-General’s duties under section 4 of the Public Audit Act, 2004 (Act No. 25 of 2004).
(7) Despite subsections (1) to (5), a senior SARS official may not disclose information under this section if satisfied that the disclosure would seriously impair a civil or criminal tax investigation.