Preparing for a SARS audit in fuel-intensive businesses
For mining, farming and industrial operators, a SARS audit often starts with diesel refund or fuel-related VAT questions — then expands into logbooks, assets and site controls. Preparation is about proving the litre trail before the verification letter arrives.
1. Treat the notice as a project, not a mailbox item
Identify the periods, claim lines and assets under review. Assign an internal owner. Diarise response deadlines. Audits go wrong when documents are assembled reactively while operations continue without a single evidence map.
2. Rebuild purchase → tank → asset → activity
SARS tests whether litres bought from registered sellers can be followed into storage, onto registered assets and into eligible activities. Reconcile seller data, tank dips or meter readings, dispensing logs and usage logbooks for the periods under review. Unexplained variances are audit magnets.
3. Stress-test logbooks against site reality
Storage and usage logs must match how the site actually works — including contractors, hired plant and mixed-use equipment. If the logbook says one story and the pit or farm says another, fix the record or the claim before SARS arrives. See diesel refund logbook requirements in 2026.
4. Align asset registers with claims
Assets on the refund profile must exist, be correctly described and match the activities claimed. Ghost assets, wrong categories and unregistered storage facilities undermine otherwise strong litre evidence — especially under the standalone platform rollout.
5. Separate eligible from ineligible use
Mining and farming claims often fail on apportionment: road use, private use, non-qualifying activities or poor mixed-use splits. Document the method and the contemporaneous records that support it. Sector guides: mining and farming.
6. Build an indexed evidence pack
Index by period and claim line. Include reconciliations, source documents and a short narrative that answers the audit questions directly. Do not rely on “we can explain on site” for material variances. Common failure modes: seven diesel refund evidence gaps.
7. Plan the objection path early
If the audit ends in an assessment, the strength of your response pack becomes the foundation of any objection. Use the SARS objection evidence checklist before positions harden.
How Meridian helps
Meridian provides evidence-led diesel refund compliance and SARS dispute support for South African fuel-intensive businesses — audit preparation, logbook testing and structured submissions. Also see what triggers a diesel refund audit in 2026.