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The Tax Service of South Africa (SARS) will introduce a number of new services to assist taxpayers in the next phase of the individual return filing season.
From September 1 to October 22, 2020, taxpayers can visit SARS branches for assistance in completing and submitting their tax returns, the tax collector said.
However, taxpayers can only do so by appointment, due to social distancing requirements under lockdown regulations, he said.
Starting September 1, SARS said it will present the following services:
Self-assessments
SARS will call certain taxpayers who have been sent self-assessment SMS and have not responded.
The call will be to find out why they have not accepted your self-assessments and to help them accept or edit your statement and submit it on your behalf. These contributors:
- All have been automatically evaluated;
- Have a refund due to them;
- They filed their statements at a branch last year;
- I have not responded to a self-assessment SMS.
Ebookings
As of September 1, the eBooking system will give the taxpayer the real-time confirmation of their reservation space with their case number and will also inform them of the supporting documents that they may need to take with them for their appointment.
As of July 24, 2020, SARS said that 14,201 eBookings have already been made through its website. The tax collector said he has also set up a toll-free number (0800 11 7277) for taxpayers to make appointments at branches.
“With both the toll-free number and the online eBooking system, taxpayers will have the option of booking a virtual session with a SARS agent, via video or voice call. This would be especially useful for the elderly, disabled or those who live far from a tax office, ”said SARS.
If they choose the video option, taxpayers will receive a link to the video call that they can access on the day of the appointment, SARS said.
For video calls, taxpayers will need to have a smartphone with a camera or a PC with a camera to start and end a video appointment, he said.
Progress so far
Since the first phase of the individual return filing season was introduced on August 1, 2020, SARS said it has been actively encouraging taxpayers to use its recently revamped digital channels to file their returns.
“For the last month we have focused on self-assessments, in which we pre-populate taxpayer returns using third-party data, artificial intelligence, and a taxpayer’s previous compliance history.
“This was implemented to make it easier for taxpayers to file their returns electronically, particularly those with standard tax returns, as they simply had to log into eFiling and accept the assessment if all their details were correct.”
By July 31, 2020, SARS said it had sent more than three million self-assessment SMS to taxpayers. As of August 27, 500,322 taxpayers had accepted the result of the self-assessment so far.
This means that 51% of those who had been selected for the self-assessment and have already submitted, accepted the result, while 49% chose to edit and submit their return.
SARS said it will continue to make follow-up calls to encourage acceptance and prevent people from having to go to its offices to apply.
“Over the last month, you have also encouraged us to see that of the just over 1.16 million taxpayers who already filed their returns electronically, 281,160 were taxpayers who used to file at branches in the past and now use one of our digital channels. . (eFiling and / or MobiApp) “.
Common complaints
SARS said it has also been monitoring its social media channels for common problems and complaints. He added that he is now working to address the following issues:
- Timeouts: We are aware that some taxpayers have complained about long wait times when calling our Contact Center, which is often the case during this initial phase of the filing season. However, taxpayers can use other consultation channels instead of calling the Contact Center, namely: go to the SARS website (www.sars.gov.za), click Contact Us> Contact SARS by mail email / fax or post.
- Repayment terms: Taxpayers are reminded that if their appraisal was not selected for audit or verification, they can expect a refund (if due) within three business days. If selected for audit or verification, the process must be completed within 21 business days from the date all required supporting documents are received. Once they have received a SARS termination notification, they can expect a refund within three business days.
- Sassa grants: We get a lot of inquiries about people rejected for SASSA grants, as it indicates that they are registered in SARS for PAYE or are receiving income. According to SASSA, to qualify for the grant, you must be unemployed (have no source of income) and not receive any other grant. If this is not correct, those affected should send an email to SASSA at [email protected].
Read: National Assembly approves Covid-19 tax relief bills for South Africa
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