SARS new diesel refund platform: what South African businesses should prepare in 2026
SARS is modernising the Diesel Refund Scheme with a standalone digital platform, separate from VAT. For mining, agriculture, industrial and other qualifying users, the shift is not only a systems change. It raises the bar on registration data, logbooks and evidence that must survive audit.
What is changing
The most significant change is structural: diesel refund registration and claims are moving off the VAT 201 return to a dedicated SARS platform. Sellers of diesel to qualifying users must also register. SARS has stated the aim is stronger compliance, better supply-chain traceability and fewer costly errors in refund processing.
Legislative updates under Schedule 6 also affect eligible percentages for certain on-land primary sector beneficiaries. Businesses should confirm their sector rules, not assume prior VAT-era percentages still apply without checking.
1. Register early on eFiling
Add the Diesel Refund product to your eFiling profile and complete the RAV01 registration process. Even where functionality is still rolling out in phases, early registration helps avoid a backlog when claim submission opens fully.
Check that contact details, banking information, physical addresses and activity codes are current before you submit.
2. Build your electronic registration profile completely
The new system expects a maintained profile of:
- Eligible assets and equipment that consume diesel
- Storage facilities and dispensing points
- Qualifying sellers and, where relevant, transporters
- Activities that support eligible use under Note 6
Incomplete profiles create friction at claim stage and weaken the factual basis of a refund position.
3. Upgrade logbooks before SARS asks
SARS is requiring more structured evidence: storage logbooks, usage logbooks tied to assets, and reconciliations from purchase through consumption. Generic spreadsheets or summary schedules are risky if they cannot trace back to source documents.
See our guide on seven diesel refund audit evidence gaps for the record failures that most often undermine claims.
4. Reconcile litres, assets and sites
Under scrutiny, SARS tests whether litres claimed match operational reality across sites and equipment. Map diesel from invoice or delivery note to tank, asset and qualifying activity. Where reconciliations do not tie out, treat that as a compliance risk to fix before filing.
5. Align sellers and supply-chain records
Mandatory seller registration is intended to improve traceability. Users should confirm their suppliers are registered and that purchase records, delivery notes and seller details on the profile match what the business actually uses in practice.
6. Plan for audits on the new platform
SARS has indicated diesel refund audits will also move to the modernised environment. Businesses that treat registration as a once-off admin task, rather than an ongoing evidence discipline, are likely to struggle when verification starts.
Practical checklist before go-live
- Confirm sector eligibility and applicable rebate percentages
- Complete or update Diesel Refund registration on eFiling
- List all assets, storage facilities and qualifying sellers on the profile
- Test logbooks against SARS minimum template requirements
- Reconcile purchases, tank movements and asset usage for a recent month
- Identify gaps now, not after a query or audit letter arrives
When to get advisory support
Meridian helps South African businesses with diesel refund compliance, registration readiness, record testing and audit preparation. If you are migrating from VAT-era processes or responding to SARS scrutiny, early evidence work is usually cheaper than dispute work later.
For dispute-stage matters, see SARS dispute support and our SARS objection evidence checklist.