Refund delays from Sars one of top complaints

The delays in paying tax refunds was in the top three reported complaints in the South African Revenue Service (Sars), the Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance heard yesterday.

CEO in the office of the tax ombudsman Eric Mkhawane said that around 2016, there was a high number of complaints from tax payers with their tax refunds being withheld.

“People complained that re- funds were being withheld for no good reason,” he said.

Mkhawane explained how a taxpayer would be using the same bank account through the entire year, but when the taxpayer wanted the refund, Sars would ask for bank account verification.

He said even after the cumbersome verification process, there would be up to a three month delay. He said the verification was a process adopted to eliminate fraud.

Mkhawane provided an example of a taxpayer who paid his return, but funds were also deducted from his business account to an amount of R1.1 million.

He said the taxpayer was given the runaround and frustrated at every turn in his quest for a refund and eventually the business was deregistered.

The second leg of the commission started on Tuesday, when several witnesses testified how consulting firm Bain and Co played a role in the decimation of the revenue service under now suspended commissioner Tom Moyane.

Witnesses fingered an inefficient new operating model designed by Bain and Co as the reason why the revenue service crumbled and departments which were crucial to the operational functions of Sars were left fragmented.

The hearing Tuesday. – ANA resumes on