With effect from 1 October 2012 the administration provisions of the various tax acts were moved to a new act, called the Tax Administration Act, 2012. The Tax Administration Act basically sets out the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the taxpayer’s obligations and entitlements.

The drafting of the Tax Administration Act was announced by the Minister of Finance in the 2005 Budget Review, and eventually promulgated on 4 July 2012. In terms of the law that has created SARS, (i.e., the South African Revenue Service Act) SARS’s objectives include the efficient and effective collection of taxes. Tax legislation, such as the Tax Administration Act, seeks to achieve this objective.