Diesel refund registration transition

Completing the diesel refund registration transition

28 October 2026
Compliance
Dr Stiaan Klue

Source: TaxCafe, Carmen Westermeyer CA(SA), October 2026. Available on Webinar-on-Demand: TaxCafe with Carmen Westermeyer - October 2026

At a glance

Development	Previous arrangement	Published change	Relevant date
Registration	Linked to VAT registration	Separate diesel registration platform	Implemented 18 September 2026
Existing users	Existing diesel registration records	New registration action remains necessary	Current transition
Entity profile	Unresolved profile data could remain	Validate, confirm and merge profiles for access	SARS update: 21 October 2026

A diesel-refund entitlement and access to the system used to administer it are separate matters. A business may undertake qualifying activities yet be unable to complete registration because its legal-entity profile is incomplete. Equally, a successful registration does not establish that every litre purchased qualifies for a refund.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) implemented its separate diesel-refund registration platform on 18 September 2026. Its 21 October update requires relevant entity profiles to be validated, confirmed and merged before access. Existing users need to complete the transition and retain their claim history; automatic migration should not be assumed. SARS: Diesel Refund Scheme.

Resolve the entity before the application

Registration work should begin with the legal person that purchases and uses the fuel. Trading names, group companies, branches and the practitioner’s eFiling profile can obscure the identity of the claimant. Establish which person operates the qualifying activity and holds the supporting invoices and usage records. A group’s internal allocation cannot, by itself, transfer another entity’s refund entitlement.

The application file should contain the current registration particulars, representative’s authority and a record of the profile statuses. Where separate records refer to the same entity, resolve that duplication through the official maintenance process. Creating a second identity to bypass a validation problem risks splitting the claim history and making later verification harder.

SARS identifies eFiling and Customs and Excise branches as application channels. Its Online Query System also supports specified enquiries and document requests. The appropriate channel should be selected for the actual problem: an access issue, an incomplete application or a claim question. Retain the acknowledgement and the final registration outcome rather than relying on a screenshot showing only that information was captured.

Client conversation trigger: Contact every existing diesel-refund client and confirm that a named person owns the transition task, with evidence of the entity’s profile status and registration outcome.

Preserve the link between purchase and qualifying use

The governing framework is the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, read with the relevant provisions of Schedule 6 and its notes. Eligibility is activity-specific. The accounting description “diesel” does not establish the statutory use, and the fact that a business operates in agriculture or mining does not make all its fuel consumption eligible.

The working record should connect supplier invoices, deliveries, storage movements, issues to equipment and the activity performed. Where a common tank serves several activities, a total purchase figure is inadequate. The allocation method should identify excluded or private consumption and reconcile opening stock, purchases, issues and closing stock. Unexplained differences should be investigated before a claim is prepared.

Illustrative example. A business purchases 10 000 litres. Its reconciled records show 6 000 litres used in activities that qualify under its scheme category, 2 500 litres used in activities that do not qualify and 1 500 litres still in stock. The purchase total is not the claimable-use total. The calculation must begin with the 6 000 litres and then apply the category’s current qualifying percentage and refund rate. This example assumes eligibility; it does not establish it.

Client conversation trigger: Ask mixed-use operators to demonstrate how a litre moves from the supplier’s invoice to the qualifying activity. Reconstruct missing allocations before submitting the next claim.

Reconcile claims during the registration transition

A practical transition file should preserve the old registration particulars, outstanding claims, query history and reconciliations immediately before the move. Record which transactions have already been claimed and which remain unclaimed. Otherwise, changing systems can produce duplicate claims or omissions that surface months later.

The new registration process should not be treated as retrospective permission to claim fuel outside the governing conditions. Nor should a practitioner assume that every older website paragraph describes the same stage of implementation. Read dated notices together with the applicable scheme rules, and obtain clarification where the application status and the published process conflict.

Completing the diesel refund registration transition - decision path

For an operational interruption, log the error, date and application reference, together with the steps already taken and the assistance required. That makes escalation useful and preserves the explanation for delay. It does not replace the underlying fuel records.

Client conversation trigger: For clients with unresolved registration access, agree an interim recordkeeping process so that the administrative problem does not become an evidential problem.

Practitioner action checklist

#	Area	Issue	Clients affected	Action required	Timing
1	Profile	Entity validation	Existing and new users	Resolve profile statuses	Before registration
2	Authority	Correct claimant	Groups and branches	Confirm entity and representative	Before application
3	Evidence	Eligible consumption	Mixed-use operators	Reconcile purchases, use and stock	Each claim
4	Transition	Duplicate or missed claims	Existing users	Preserve old-to-new reconciliation	During migration

Close the transition task when registration is confirmed and outstanding claims reconcile to the retained records. For each claim, reconcile qualifying consumption and separately identify fuel used outside the qualifying activity.

Frequently asked questions

Will my diesel refund registration migrate automatically to the new SARS platform?

Automatic migration should not be assumed. SARS implemented its separate platform on 18 September 2026, and its 21 October update requires entity profiles to be validated, confirmed and merged before access.

Does diesel refund registration mean all my diesel qualifies?

No. Registration does not establish that every litre purchased qualifies for a refund. Each claim should reconcile qualifying consumption and separately identify fuel used outside the qualifying activity.

Can a group company claim the diesel refund for another entity?

The claimant is the legal person that purchases and uses the fuel in the qualifying activity. A group’s internal allocation cannot, by itself, transfer another entity’s refund entitlement.

Build your expertise: to apply these principles in practice, explore The Tax Faculty’s Microlearning Course: Customs.

About the author

Dr Stiaan Klue is Executive Dean and CEO of The Tax Faculty. He was the founding CEO of the South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT) and is the founding author of Silke on Tax Administration (LexisNexis).

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