Check your SARS eFiling compliance and VAT status by API

What you can build on eFiling

• Check tax compliance status

  Build this

  Reads My Compliance Profile under Tax Status for one taxpayer: the overall status, the Registration, Submission of Return and Debt items, and the TCS requests.

  Takes

  Taxpayer from your Taxpayer List

  Returns

  Overall compliance status, registration, returns and debt status, outstanding periods, TCS type, request status, PIN status, issue date, expiry date

• Read the VAT filing control table

  Build this

  Opens Request VAT Control Table under Returns Issued for up to 12 months and reads whether each tax period's return was received, is required or is overdue.

  Takes

  Taxpayer, start date, end date

  Returns

  Tax period, status (received, required, outstanding and overdue)

• List filed VAT201 returns

  Build this

  Reads Returns History for Value Added Tax (VAT201): each filed return's period, status, amount due and complete date.

  Takes

  Taxpayer, earliest tax period (optional)

  Returns

  Tax period, return type, status, amount due, complete date

• Request a VAT statement of account

  Build this

  On the VAT201 Work Page, selects Request Statement of Account for a transaction year and period range, then reads the summary of the VATSOA.

  Takes

  Taxpayer, transaction year, start period, end period

  Returns

  Statement date, statement period, transaction year, unallocated payments, closing balance

Automate eFiling with a workflow

A workflow runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

• Weekly compliance check of your Taxpayer List

  Build this

  Starts

  Every Monday at 7:00 (Africa/Johannesburg)

  Step 1

  For each taxpayer you name, check the tax compliance status in My Compliance Profile.

  Step 2

  Keep the taxpayers whose Overall Compliance Status changed since the last run.

  Step 3

  Email you the list, with which of Registration, Submission of Return or Debt is non-compliant.

• Outstanding VAT201 returns, every client

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 8:00 (Africa/Johannesburg)

  Step 1

  For each taxpayer, read the VAT filing control table for the last 12 months.

  Step 2

  Keep the periods marked Return is outstanding and overdue or Return is required.

  Step 3

  Post each one, with taxpayer, tax period and status, to your practice system's webhook.

• TCS PINs that expire soon

  Build this

  Starts

  On the 1st of every month at 7:00 (Africa/Johannesburg)

  Step 1

  For each taxpayer, check the tax compliance status and its TCS requests.

  Step 2

  Keep the PINs with status Active and an expiry date in the next 60 days.

  Step 3

  Email you the list by expiry date, with the TCS type.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a method, it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Check tax compliance status” would look like.

curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "secure.sarsefiling.co.za/check_tax_compliance_status",
    "input": {
      "taxpayer": "Acme Trading (Pty) Ltd"
    }
  }'

{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "taxpayer": "Acme Trading (Pty) Ltd",
    "overall_compliance_status": "Non-compliant",
    "registration": "Compliant",
    "submission_of_return": {
      "status": "Non-compliant",
      "outstanding": [
        {
          "tax_type": "VAT",
          "period": "202608"
        }
      ]
    },
    "debt": {
      "status": "Compliant",
      "outstanding": []
    },
    "tcs_requests": [
      {
        "type": "Good Standing",
        "request_status": "Approved",
        "pin_status": "Active",
        "issue_date": "2026-05-14",
        "expiry_date": "2027-05-14"
      }
    ]
  }
}

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

EFiling’s own options

eFiling has no self-serve API. SARS lets software vendors connect their products through its ISV interface after signing its terms and passing acceptance testing, for annual returns, PAYE returns, transfer duty and tax directives. Employers file EMP201 and EMP501 declarations in e@syFile Employer, free SARS software linked to eFiling. Compliance status, VAT control tables and statements are read on eFiling itself.

Read on November 12, 2026: Independent Software Vendors, e@syFile, Guide for completing the VAT201 return.

Signing in to eFiling

eFiling signs you in with a username and password. SARS enforces a second step on all individual profiles: a one-time PIN sent to your security contact details by email or SMS, or a push to the SARS Mobile Application. With Fous you sign in once through eFiling's own sign-in with your profile: the login is sealed with AES-256, an emailed code or a phone approval is handled, and an expired session is signed back in.

Worth knowing

One taxpayer at a time

A profile that manages several taxpayers selects one from the Taxpayer List before using Tax Status or Returns, so each method takes the taxpayer as an input.

Rights decide what each user sees

The rights Tax Compliance Status and Tax Compliance Status Verification are assigned under Organisation, Rights Group, Manage Groups. Sign in with a user that holds the rights your methods need.

eFiling keeps only the last VATSOA

Each new VAT statement of account replaces the previous one on eFiling. Statements cover the last 5 years, and when one cannot be issued at once it can take up to 48 hours.

The VAT control table spans 12 months

The VAT filing control table accepts at most 12 months per request. If it shows No Results for a range inside your liability date, Refresh fetches the latest information from SARS.

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