The Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act of 2014 (TALA) was promulgated on 20 January 2014. The TALA deals, amongst others, with the records that VAT vendors must keep to claim a deduction of VAT paid on the importation of goods. Previously an agent could hold the import documentation on behalf of the principal importer. “The new rules require that from 1 April 2015 the vendor must hold all import records at the time that the vendor claims a deduction of the importation VAT.” The TALA further specifically requires that the vendor must hold the SARS receipt for the payment of the importation VAT. Where importers utilise the services of import agents, the agents normally pay importation VAT to SARS in a lump sum on behalf of a number of importers. A single receipt is issued by SARS for the lump sum payment. To comply with the new requirements in practice, agents in future will need to provide their clients with a list of payments made on behalf of various importers and indicate where a particular payment made on behalf of the importer is included in the list. They will also be required to provide their clients with a copy of the actual receipt of the lump sum paid to SARS. The goods news is that the information may be provided in electronic format.