What's changed in South African food service and hospitality compliance

R638 itself has not been amended recently, but municipal enforcement of Certificate of Acceptability requirements has visibly stepped up, with reported closures of premises trading without a valid certificate. Separately, in the tourism levy space, a governance dispute at SA Tourism has led the private sector to withhold and redirect roughly R500 million in collected TOMSA levy funds rather than hand them over as usual.

Reviewed by TefCo Compliance Research — last verified 15 September 2026.

In short

R638 of 2018 remains the current governing regulation for food premises hygiene and Certificates of Acceptability — no replacement regulation was found in this review.
Enforcement against premises trading without a valid Certificate of Acceptability has been reported as accelerating, including publicised closures.
The private sector has withheld roughly R500 million in collected TOMSA tourism levy funds from SA Tourism amid governance concerns, redirecting some of it to trade shows and joint marketing instead.

R638 enforcement is tightening, not the regulation itself

The underlying regulation — R638 of 22 June 2018 — has not changed; industry guidance published in 2026 continues to cite it as the current governing text for hygiene requirements and the Certificate of Acceptability [2](https://ascfoodsafety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/R638-of-2018-Regulations-governing-general-hygiene-requirements-for-food-premises-the-transport-of-food-and-related-matters.pdf).

What has visibly shifted is enforcement activity: industry commentary points to municipalities closing premises and fining outlets found operating without a valid Certificate of Acceptability, treating it as an immediate offence rather than an administrative catch-up item.

Because enforcement approach and inspection frequency are set locally, confirm current practice with your own municipality's environmental health department rather than assuming a national standard applies uniformly.

TOMSA tourism levy funding dispute

TOMSA is a voluntary 1% levy collected by accommodation, tour operator, car rental and travel agency businesses and historically handed over in full to SA Tourism for destination marketing [8](https://tomsa.co.za/levy-faq/). Reported in January and February 2026, the private sector — through the Tourism Business Council of South Africa — has been withholding roughly R500 million in collected levies from SA Tourism because of governance and financial-instability concerns at that organisation, and is instead directing some of the funds into trade show attendance and joint marketing agreements [9](https://www.tourismupdate.com/article/industry-eyes-smarter-use-of-withheld-tomsa-levies).

For a hospitality business collecting the levy from guests, this does not change the collection or remittance mechanics day to day, but it does mean the funds may currently flow to a TBCSA-appointed committee rather than directly to SA Tourism as in the past [10](https://www.tourismupdate.com/article/associations-reveal-plans-for-tomsa-funds).

Frequently asked

Has the Certificate of Acceptability process changed recently?

The regulation (R638 of 2018) is unchanged, but enforcement against businesses trading without a valid certificate has been reported as stricter in 2025–2026, including publicised closures of well-known outlets.

Should our business still collect the TOMSA levy given the funding dispute?

That is a commercial decision — TOMSA remains a voluntary scheme. Businesses already collecting it should confirm with TOMSA/TBCSA where the funds are currently being directed, since the usual pass-through to SA Tourism has been interrupted [9](https://www.tourismupdate.com/article/industry-eyes-smarter-use-of-withheld-tomsa-levies).

Sources

TefCo Corporate Compliance (Pty) Ltd is a compliance management platform, not a legal, tax or advisory firm. This guide is general information, not advice. Fees, dates and thresholds change — confirm current figures with the regulator before you rely on them.