You've found the tender, the corporate client is ready to sign, and then the procurement pack asks for one thing you don't have: a tax clearance certificate. In South Africa that now means a Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN, and if your SARS affairs aren't in order, getting one can take days or weeks you don't have. Here's how the system works and how to stay permanently clearance-ready.
From Certificates to PINs
SARS replaced the old paper tax clearance certificate with the electronic Tax Compliance Status system. Instead of a document, you request a PIN on eFiling and give it to whoever needs to verify you, they enter it on SARS's system and see your live compliance status. Because the status is live, a PIN that was green on Monday can turn red on Friday if a return goes overdue.
What SARS Checks
Your status is compliant only when all of the following are true across every tax type you're registered for:
- Registration, all required tax types (income tax, VAT, PAYE) are registered.
- Submissions, no outstanding returns: ITR14s, VAT201s, EMP201s, EMP501s, provisional returns.
- Debt, no outstanding tax debt, unless a formal payment arrangement or suspension is in place.
- Relevant registered particulars, your details with SARS are current.
How to Get Your TCS PIN
- Log into eFiling and open Tax Status → Tax Compliance Status.
- Activate the TCS service if it's your first time.
- Request a PIN for the purpose you need, "Good Standing" for tenders and contracts, or "Approval International Transfer" for moving funds abroad.
- Share the PIN with the requesting party; they verify it directly with SARS.
If your status shows non-compliant, the request screen tells you which tax type is the problem, that's your to-do list.
Why Businesses Fail the Check
- One forgotten return. A single outstanding VAT201 or a nil EMP201 that was never filed blocks the whole profile.
- Old penalties quietly compounding. Admin penalties for late returns sit as debt and flip your status red.
- Deregistered-but-not-really entities. Directors often assume a dormant company's obligations stopped; SARS doesn't.
- eFiling profile chaos. Wrong registered representative means you can't even see the problem, let alone fix it.
Stay Clearance-Ready, Permanently
The businesses that never sweat a tender deadline are the ones whose compliance is maintained monthly, not rescued quarterly. PayStream's tax compliance service keeps every registration, return and payment current, so when opportunity asks for a TCS PIN, you generate it in minutes. If you're currently non-compliant, we'll run the remediation: outstanding returns filed, penalties disputed or arranged, and your status restored.