Johannesburg - Business Unity SA (Busa) has set up a task team to analyse the Carbon Tax Policy Paper and find a "definitive business view" to submit to National Treasury.
"Busa believes that decisions around the carbon tax in South Africa now need to be seen as part of a bigger picture of tax reform in South Africa," it said in a statement on Thursday.
"While Busa has consistently supported the need to move to a lower carbon intensive economy... it believes that the carbon tax proposal needs to be further critically interrogated."
It said great caution was needed in the carbon tax implementation in South Africa, not only because external and internal economic circumstances had changed, but because there were a number of challenges that needed to be taken into account.
The paper was published for public comment by the National Treasury earlier on Thursday.
"This is the second and final round of comments requested on carbon tax policy, before government proceeds with the publication of draft legislation to give effect to carbon taxes later this year," Treasury said in a statement.
It was expected that the policy would be implemented on January 1, 2015.
The ministry said climate change posed a major challenge to humankind, and one of the most significant ways to mitigate the risk was by reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide.
The government undertook to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025, at the 2009 Copenhagen conference of parties.