The South African Revenue Services (SARS) have recently released an updated Service Charter. The new Service Charter comes into effect from 1 April 2022 and details their service commitment for Tax, Customs & Excise.
According to SARS, the new and updated Service Charter is the outcome of several engagements, including external inputs received and audit observations raised by the Office of the Tax Ombud, some of which include systemic issues.
The SARS website highlights the following:
Why Was The Service Charter Reviewed And What Has Changed?
The SARS Commissioner has introduced the new organisational language, Vision 2024 and Nine Strategic Objectives which SARS’s work should align. In the revisit of the Compliance Theory & Model and the Leadership Model, SARS had to revisit how it commits to service levels in a practical manner. The Service Charter as a tool of commitment should help SARS with clarity and certainty in making it easy to connect all SARS employees and operations in the value chain to deliver outcomes in line with Service Obsession.
What has changed:
- The tax system value chain has included newly defined metrics.
- The inclusion of more digital functionalities and virtual engagements through eBooking.
- Service Level commitments have taken the practicality of high volumes and integrated some transactional work on an average of about 20 – 30% which have inherent exceptional complexity that causes them to exceed standard committed service levels.
- SARS is committing to work on improving communication to update taxpayers on the status of their requests on eFiling and others means.
- Taxpayers’ Rights and Obligations have been consolidated and elaborated.
- The Charter highlights that the primary resolution of service failures should be where engagement is happening at the branch or centre before escalation to higher authorities.
Taxpayer’s Rights And Obligations
Scope And Service Timeframes
The SARS Service Charter covers the following areas:
- Engagement with SARS
- Registration
- Returns
- Customs Declaration
- Verification
- Audit
- Refunds
- Payments
- Debt
- Disputes
- Tax Clearance Status
- Voluntary Disclosure programme
- Service Failures
- Complaints to the Tax Ombud
For more detail on the service timeframes, access the detailed Service Charter at the bottom of this article.
How To Complain To SARS
If you are unhappy with SARS’s service after following the normal processes, you may complain as follows:
- Through SARS eFiling.
- By calling the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277.
- By calling the SARS Complaints Office at 0860 12 12 16.
- At a SARS Branch by making an appointment.
For more information, see the SARS Complaints Process.
How To Complain To The Tax Ombud
If you have exhausted all complaint processes through SARS or have compelling circumstances, you may lodge a complaint with the office of the Tax Ombud as follows:
- Call the toll-free call centre on 0800 662 837.
- Call +27 12 431 9105.
- Email complaints@taxombud.gov.za.
For information, see the Tax Ombud complaint process.
Access the detailed Service Charter here.
Source: www.sars.gov.za
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