How long SARS takes to pay a VAT refund

How long SARS has to pay a South African VAT refund, what lets it hold the refund back, and what suspends or restarts the 21-business-day clock.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa

For an exporter, a business in a heavy buying season, or one that has just fitted out new premises, the VAT return can end with SARS owing the business: a refund. That refund is money already spent on VAT, and the business is usually counting on getting it back to pay suppliers or staff.

So the question "when will it arrive?" is a cash-flow question, not an idle one. SARS works to a time limit for refunds, but the limit has conditions, and several things can stop or reset the clock. This article explains why a refund arises, how long SARS has to pay it, what allows SARS to hold it back, and how to keep your records in a state that does not slow it down.

Why a refund arises

SARS explains the basic mechanism: a vendor pays SARS the difference between output tax and input tax, or claims a VAT refund where input tax exceeds output tax.

In practice, a refund period is one where the VAT on what you bought was larger than the VAT on what you sold. Typical situations include:

• an exporter whose sales are zero-rated, while its purchases carry VAT;
• a business that bought expensive equipment or stock in the period;
• a new business with set-up costs and few sales yet.

A refund is not a windfall. It is VAT you have already paid out to suppliers, coming back.

The 21-business-day rule

SARS says it must pay a VAT refund within 21 business days of receiving a correctly completed VAT return. If it does not, it must pay interest at the prescribed rate.

The phrase that carries the most weight is "correctly completed". The clock runs from a return SARS regards as complete and correct, not from the day you pressed submit on a return with gaps or errors. The prescribed interest rate is set by SARS and is not stated here; check it with SARS if a refund runs late.

SARS's VAT refunds page explains when a vendor is due a refund and how SARS processes and verifies refunds, and is the authority on the current rules.

What lets SARS hold a refund back

SARS says it may withhold a VAT refund until:

1. banking details are provided;
2. all outstanding VAT returns are submitted; or
3. a verification, inspection or audit of the refund is finalised.

The first two are entirely in your hands. A business that has changed banks without telling SARS, or that skipped a return in a quiet period, has given SARS a reason to wait. The third is in SARS's hands, but how long it takes depends heavily on how quickly you can produce what SARS asks for.

There is another way a refund can shrink rather than wait. SARS says a VAT refund is set off against any outstanding tax debt, with any balance paid to the vendor. Unpaid penalties, interest or another tax owed come out of the refund first. How late-payment penalties arise is covered in what SARS charges when VAT is paid late.

When the clock is suspended or recalculated

SARS draws a distinction between pausing the clock and restarting it.

Suspension means the clock stops and picks up again once SARS has access. Recalculation means the period is worked out afresh, which can push the payment date well beyond what you expected.

Much of this is within your control. A complete return, correct banking details, every return filed, and records available promptly when asked: those four things keep the clock running.

Keeping records ready for SARS

When SARS verifies a refund, it asks for documents. The faster you produce them, the sooner it can finish.

Reconciled bank records. In Achekam, a business imports bank statements as PDF, CSV, Excel, OFX, QIF, MT940 or CAMT.053, and each import is checked so that the opening balance plus movements equals the closing balance. Bank lines are matched by suggestion and a person accepts each match. A line not yet in the books becomes a suggested journal that a person approves, and a reconciliation completes only when no difference is left or every leftover line is explained. A reconciled bank account for the refund period shows SARS that the payments behind your input tax claims really left your account.

Source documents in one place. Document Centre is a folder-based store where a business uploads files or whole folders, previews, downloads, renames, moves, tags, archives and searches them, and a new version keeps the earlier ones. A folder per VAT period, with the supplier tax invoices for the larger claims, export documents for zero-rated sales and the bank statements, means a verification request can be answered from one place.

How an accountant prepares a client for a verification is set out in preparing a client for a SARS VAT refund verification. If the refund is larger than it should have been because input tax was claimed late, the rules on late claims are in claiming missed input tax in a later VAT return.

A pre-submission check for refund returns

Before submitting a return that ends in a refund, confirm that SARS has your current banking details, that every earlier return is filed, that the bank account for the period is reconciled, and that the period's folder holds the invoices behind the largest claims. Then note the submission date and count 21 business days forward. If the refund has not arrived by then, you will know which of SARS's conditions to ask about.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.