In June 2019, South Africa’s new carbon tax law came into force which allows entities to use carbon offsets to satisfy 5% or 10% of their tax obligations, depending on the sector in which they operate. South African-based credits developed under Verra’s VCS Program are eligible for compliance. Last week, on 23 July 2020, the country launched its Carbon Offset Administration System (COAS) which sets out the procedures through which project developers can submit project applications and list their credits, and through which emitters can surrender credits against their tax obligations. The first deadline for surrendering eligible carbon offsets is 29 October 2020.
On Tuesday, 25 August at 2:30 pm SAST (8:30 am EDT), Verra will be hosting a 90-minute webinar to share details about the VCS Program and how Verra plans to support the development of projects in South Africa. To register, please click here. Please reach out to Carina Bracer at cbracer@verra.org with any questions.