Case in point

OVERa period of 18 months Sars has been unable to issue my wife with a tax clearance certificate despite handing the application in at a Sars branch and having e-mailed numerous documents that appear to be assisting them in achieving nothing.

Sars personnel love case numbers, we have a list from here to Timbuktu. Perhaps they wish to give the impression that something is happening behind the scenes – absolutely nothing to be exact.

Our case has been escalated to a “team leader” on about five occasions, yet we have never heard a word from any of them. Warning to those who deal with Sars: escalating a case to the team leader appears to be synonymous with file 13 – you might just as well decline the offer and hang up.

If you find an “agent” who appears to be “on the ball”, DO NOT get excited – it is Sars’s policy that you will never be able to contact the same agent more than once. Why would you want continuity or accountability anyway?

Sars has a state of the art intranet that allows information to be updated anytime you call with your most recent (20th?) case number. The update you provide is for interest purposes only – the next agent you speak to (when you call back with your 21st case number) will have the outdated information on their PC. By the way, you will have to call back; Sars staff do not reply to e-mails.

If any reader has ever had a certificate issued without making numerous visits to a Sars office (somewhat difficult from Australia) please share the secret.