Sars: one step forward, two back

Barbara Curson Moneyweb

The tax ombud is slowly gaining ground in helping taxpayers to resolve their tax differences with Sars. Unfortunately, these “differences” are often of Sars’ making – and as it slips further behind in the revenue target, we expect an exponential increase in such differences.

eFiling is also showing its cracks. If you try to open a document on eFiling, using Google Chrome, you’ll receive a misleading instruction to download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Reader.

Mybroadband.co.za’s web document “What to do when Sars eFiling will not work with Chrome” addresses this issue.

Be prepared: taxpayers due for a refund will be selected for “verification”.

Could another reason be the loss of skilled staff? If not, why does Sars issue one-size-fits-all query letters when a taxpayer is due a refund? Why are taxpayers required to submit unnecessary documentation for verification?

Sars tries to avoid the Tax Administration Act’s provisions by referring to this process as “verification”, not an “audit”. This means no reasons have to be given.

Defending itself from accusations of unnecessarily delaying refunds, Sars says: “Any refund due may be withheld, pending finalisation of this process.” If Sars restricted the process to the relevant documentation only, the process would be completed in a day.

The eFiling notice further directs that an original copy of notice be submitted with the other documents. But the computer-generated virtual document doesn’t physically exist.

It further requests documents for verification of expenses not claimed such as a travelling expenses. If not submitted, you’ve technically not complied with the request, resulting in a refund delay.

All documents can be scanned into one file, not exceeding 2MB. The documents must first be uploaded, then submitted. Many taxpayers fail to submit. Check that the status states “submitted”. Take a screenshot for proof.

Twenty files (each less than 2MB) may be uploaded, but must all be submitted at the same time. If unsuccessful, you’ll need to go to a Sars branch.

If banking details have changed, the new bank account details must be verified at a Sars branch, in person.

It’s one step forward, two steps back for Sars.