SARS Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN: How to Get and Renew One for South African Government Tenders

Of all the documents that disqualify South African tender bids, an invalid SARS Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN is right at the top of the list. It's also the one most easily fixed yet small businesses lose contracts every week because their PIN has expired or because SARS shows them as non-compliant for reasons they didn't even know about. This guide explains what the TCS PIN is, how to get one, how to share it on a tender and how to make sure your tax compliance stays green year-round.

What is a SARS Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN?

The Tax Compliance Status PIN is a 16-character code (e.g. A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8) issued by SARS that allows any third party to verify in real time whether you are tax-compliant. It replaced the old paper Tax Clearance Certificate in 2016. When a government department, municipality or State Owned Enterprise evaluates your bid, they type your PIN into the SARS verification portal at the moment they score your bid. Whatever the system says at that moment is what counts not what your tax position was when you originally generated the PIN.

Why do I need a TCS PIN for government tenders?

Section 76(1) of the Tax Administration Act and the SCM regulations require every organ of state to verify the tax compliance of any supplier before awarding a contract. In practice that means:

• Every tender bid form (SBD 1, SBD 2) requires your TCS PIN
• The bid evaluation committee verifies the PIN at bid opening a non-compliant status at that moment makes your bid non-responsive
• Even after award, the buyer re-verifies your TCS before issuing a purchase order or paying an invoice

In short: tax compliance is not a once-off check, it's an ongoing condition of doing business with government.

How to get a SARS TCS PIN step by step

Step 1: Make sure you're tax compliant first

SARS will only issue a "Compliant" TCS PIN if all four compliance conditions are met simultaneously:

1. All returns submitted (Income Tax, VAT, PAYE, UIF, SDL as applicable)
2. No outstanding debts with SARS (or all debts under formal payment arrangement)
3. Registered for the right tax types (provisional tax if a company, VAT if over R1m turnover)
4. Up-to-date contact details on SARS eFiling

Check your status under "My Compliance Profile" on SARS eFiling before requesting a PIN. The profile shows colour-coded boxes — any red box means you'll get a "Non-Compliant" PIN.

Step 2: Request the PIN on eFiling

On SARS eFiling, navigate to "Tax Status" → "Tax Compliance Status Request". Select the purpose:

• Tender for bidding on a government tender
• Good Standing for general business verification
• FIA for foreign investment allowance applications
• Emigration for emigration tax clearance

For bids, always pick "Tender" or "Good Standing". The PIN is issued instantly and emailed to your registered address. The PIN is valid for 12 months from issue, but the underlying status is checked live every time someone uses it.

Step 3: Share the PIN on your bid

On every SBD 2 form (Tax Compliance Status), write your PIN in the field provided. You don't attach a printed certificate the PIN alone is what evaluators use to verify you on the SARS portal.

What does each TCS status mean?

• Compliant (green): all four conditions met. You can bid.
• Non-Compliant (red): one or more conditions failed. Your bid will be disqualified.
• Pending Verification: SARS is still processing a recent return or payment. Sometimes resolves in hours, sometimes days. Don't bid until it's green.

Common reasons a TCS PIN comes back non-compliant

1. An EMP201 (PAYE/UIF) return is outstanding, often for a month where you had no employees and assumed you didn't need to file. SARS still expects a "nil return".
2. A small unpaid amount on your statement of account sometimes as little as R30 in interest. Pay it and status updates within 24 hours.
3. VAT registered but not filing. If your turnover ever crossed R1m and you registered for VAT, you must file every two months even if you have no input/output VAT.
4. Provisional tax not submitted. All companies are required to be registered for and submit provisional tax even if zero income. Many start-ups don't realise this.
5. Returns submitted under the wrong tax year. Easy to do via eFiling's UI. Check the year of assessment on every submission.

How to fix non-compliance fast

If you're staring at a closing tender deadline and a non-compliant TCS:

1. Open My Compliance Profile and identify exactly which condition is red.
2. Submit any missing returns immediately (nil returns are one-click on eFiling).
3. Pay any outstanding debts via eFiling's "Pay Now" credit-push payments via FNB, Standard Bank, ABSA and Nedbank reflect within 24 hours.
4. Wait for the My Compliance Profile to refresh (typically same day if pay-now was used, otherwise 24–48 hours).
5. Re-request the TCS PIN. The new PIN replaces the old one for tender purposes.

If you can't resolve in time and the bid closes today, your options are limited there is no formal extension mechanism for tax non-compliance. Withdraw the bid rather than submit a non-compliant one and damage your reputation with that buyer.

Keeping your TCS PIN green year-round

• File on time, every time. Use SARS eFiling's email reminders or set your own calendar.
• Pay debt the moment it appears. Don't wait for a letter log in monthly and clear small balances.
• Use a tax practitioner if you don't have time. A registered SAIPA/SAICA tax practitioner typically charges R500–R1500 per month for SMME bookkeeping with full SARS compliance maintenance far less than one lost tender contract.
• Don't ignore SARS correspondence. The single biggest reason small businesses end up non-compliant is an unanswered letter from SARS demanding clarification.

How TenderSearch SA helps

Tax compliance is on you, but seeing tenders early is on us. Our keyword alerts give you the maximum possible time before a closing date so even if you discover a TCS issue when you start the bid, you have the full 21-day cycle to resolve it. Most disqualifications happen because bidders find the tender on day 19 with two days left — the full list of avoidable mistakes is covered in our guide to tender disqualification errors. A compliant TCS PIN also needs to sit alongside your CSD registration and B-BBEE certificate before any bid is worth writing.