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SARS coughs up more than R62.1bn in refunds

Cape Town - The SA Revenue Service (SARS) has already paid over R62.1bn in refunds to taxpayers by October 2, it said in a media release on Tuesday.

The bulk of the refunds - R49.8bn - were VAT refunds, and the rest  - R12.3bn - personal income tax refunds.

SARS said that, by Monday, more than 2.7 million taxpayers had submitted their tax returns since tax season opened in July. This was an increase of 3.6% compared to the same period last year.

Most taxpayers still stood in queues to file their papers. 

While 49.28% of taxpayers used the online efiling, 50.9% filed at branches countrywide. SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane said in a statement that efiling was the quickest and easiest method to use.

Pay on time 

Last week SARS said it would intensify criminal proceedings against tax offenders from October.

The reason for the intended clampdown was an "increase in taxpayers not submitting their tax returns by the stipulated deadlines", and not settling their outstanding debt with the revenue collection agency, SARS said in a statement.

This was not limited to the current tax year, but included substantial non-compliance across previous tax years.
 
Required documentation
 
SARS reminded taxpayers to have the following documents ready when visiting a branch:

  • Your banking particulars;
  • Your IRP5/IT3(a) certificate(s);
  • Certificates that you received for any investment income;
  • Details of medical expenses paid by you and not covered by your medical scheme;
  • Medical aid certificate for details of medical aid contributions made that do not appear on your IRP5/IT3(a) certificate(s);
  • Completed confirmation of diagnosis of disability form (ITR-DD), if applicable;
  • Information about your retirement annuity contributions;
  • Details of business travel (if you received a travel allowance or want to claim against a fringe benefit for an employer provided vehicle);
  • Information about foreign tax credits withheld;
    Financial statements, if applicable - for instance business income;
  • Any other relevant material relating to income you received or deductions you want to claim.

Alternative channels

eFiling and Help-You-Efile

Efiling is the quickest and easiest method of meeting tax obligations, according to SARS. It can be used for submitting a tax return and lodging disputes.  It includes the help-you-efile icon which gives taxpayers access to a SARS tax agent to assist with efiling process in a step-by-step manner.
 
Contact centre and call-back

Taxpayers can also opt to contact the SARS contact centre to resolve any tax queries or to obtain any tax information they may require, instead of travelling to a branch.

The SARS contact centre can also assist taxpayers to register on efiling and submit a tax return online. In the event the contact centre is experiencing high call volumes, taxpayers can select the call-back function, which allows SARS to call the taxpayer.  
 
The SARS eFiling MobiSite
 
The SARS eFiling MobiSite allows taxpayers to file their individual Income Tax Return (ITR12) via eFiling from their mobile phone’s internet browser.

The site is configured with software that can be used by blind and partially-sighted taxpayers.
 
SARS website

SARS said taxpayers should refer to the its website for the latest tax information, updates on branch and contact centre volumes, new legislation and any challenges that are experienced.

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