SARS & eFiling - What gives?!

[Dubbin]

Do you need to cart that whole lot to Sars and wait in the queue!?

That is one option. Nearest SARS office is 150 km from me. Other is to upload the information you think is relevant to the e-filing website and \wait for their response. Normally they then respond by requesting additional information, without specifying what.

[Grogs]

I have it on VERY good authority that SARS is a complete mess at the moment. And it's operations are on a downward trajectory. Bad management, political interference, etc etc etc. There's some pretty sordid stuff going on (not going to say anything more than that, but the incident with Vlok Symington, one of the good guys at SARS, recently being held against his will in an office at SARS by some of the Commissioner's heavies is just one example that's in the public domain).

 

Our economy isn't growing (so tax payments are flat), but the government's need for cash is. So SARS has to squeeze every cent out of us.

 

All of the good people at SARS are leaving in their droves, and SARS is employing goons who are just debt collectors with no knowledge of tax principles. Their auditors (who should have a basic grasp of said principles) simply don't know what they're doing (I have first hand experience of this). Case in point: the Commissioner himself (who came from - wait for it - the Department of Correctional Services).

 

The biggest problem for me in all of this is that they're going after the wrong people - people who are employees and have PAYE deducted from their salaries every month and provisional taxpayers who make all their payments on time. They should be going after those that aren't registered and are self employed, who run cash businesses.

 

The Porsche garage in Fourways apparently sells more than 100 cars a month. It's the biggest Porsche dealership in the Southern Hemisphere. These goons at SARS chasing compliant taxpayers and withholding small refunds under the guise of verifying bank details would use their time far more productively if they just set up a desk outside Porsche and did lifestyle audits on its customers going in and coming out.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Grogs

[Grogs]

Post hijack - Got a question for the clever people here....

 

I completed my online return, which is very straight forward as I am just PAYE employee. During the year I was paid a couple grand for mileage at R2.25/Km by my company and I also had to pay in for medical expenses as a result of falling off my bicycle every now and then.  

 

After completing online SARS owed me 29 Cents..

 

I like many here then got a nice email from SARS stating that I had correspondence that needs looking at... Turns out I am being audited and they want all associated documents..

 

This is where my problem starts... I was a bit slack with claiming my mileage, and only submitted it when I remembered. So my logbook actual Km's traveled for work is over double of what I actually claimed - all of this I can prove, as I have satellite tracking and can see on the web where I was on a daily basis...

 

SARS have asked me for my complete logbook with opening and closing readings and where I have been, etc - will they kick my backside into touch for not claiming, or just tell me that I am stupid?

 

Tom

Tom - there's f$&@ all they can do to you for underclaiming. If they're auditing you, all you need to do is request a correction to your tax return (you can do this on e-filing) and submit the corrected details.

 

Now if you had overclaimed, that might be a different story.

[Mudsimus]

I got my payment in full two days after submitting. Just lucky maybe...

[bertusras]

Tom - there's f$&@ all they can do to you for underclaiming. If they're auditing you, all you need to do is request a correction to your tax return (you can do this on e-filing) and submit the corrected details.

 

Now if you had overclaimed, that might be a different story.

 

Here's my question. I submitted my supporting documentation the day after my return, how long do I now have to wait for them to sort it out? It's been three weeks now.

[MTBeer]

Here's my question. I submitted my supporting documentation the day after my return, how long do I now have to wait for them to sort it out? It's been three weeks now.

in the past I have been told 21 working days.

[Mudsimus]

I have the same issue. They want my 2006 return as it shows outstanding. I only registered in 2007 and have completed all returns since(also very straightforward) and received all pay-outs since then.

 

The company I worked for in 2006 doesn't exist anymore and I don't have docs from then, was earning peanuts and below tax threshold.

 

Anybody in the know?

Get an affidavit stating what happend and what you earned, go to SARS and just file the minimum return.

[flymango]

Here's my question. I submitted my supporting documentation the day after my return, how long do I now have to wait for them to sort it out? It's been three weeks now.

 

21 working days. And then, depending on the size of the claim, they'll ask another trivial question for you to upload and they take another 21 days. Repeat.

 

Assuming everything's in order, a refund can take 3 - 6 months. But they're looking for gaps in your submissions, and in the mean time they have your cash to pay state salaries.

 

With 0.5% economic growth, not too many companies are making any profits. Tax revenues must be under severe pressure, so provisional payments are a main source of state cash flow. 

[Nancy Drew]

I got my payment in full two days after submitting. Just lucky maybe...

 

Ditto

[Bateleur1]

I finally got my final payment last week. Took some time. I am glad about that.  I am done with SARS and will be closing my SA bank account now.

[Grogs]

Those who are being audited or have been asked to submit supporting documentation:

 

They have 21 working days from when you submit your documents to finalize the review.

After this 21 days, they can escalate the audit, and they then have another 21 days to finalize it.

If they still haven't finalized the audit after the second 21 day period, approach the SARS CMO (Complaints Monitoring Office 0860 12 12 16).

 

Phone SARS after the expiry of the first period and again after the expiry of the second period, and ask about the progress of the audit. Take down the case numbers you are given so that you can give them to the CMO when you go to them.

 

I have been audited every year for the past 10 years, and always only get my refund once I've contacted the CMO (and within a couple of days after that). It's like Groundhog Day.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Grogs

[Spoke101]

Those who are being audited or have been asked to submit supporting documentation:

 

They have 21 working days from when you submit your documents to finalize the review.

After this 21 days, they can escalate the audit, and they then have another 21 days to finalize it.

If they still haven't finalized the audit after the second 21 day period, approach the SARS CMO (Complaints Monitoring Office 0860 12 12 16).

 

Phone SARS after the expiry of the first period and again after the expiry of the second period, and ask about the progress of the audit. Take down the case numbers you are given so that you can give them to the CMO when you go to them.

 

I have been audited every year for the past 10 years, and always only get my refund once I've contacted the CMO (and within a couple of days after that). It's like Groundhog Day.

There is apparently somewhere on the efilling site where you can select instigating High Court proceedings. Then things move along very quickly.

[Ed-Zulu]

Here's my question. I submitted my supporting documentation the day after my return, how long do I now have to wait for them to sort it out? It's been three weeks now.

My audit with supporting documents which consisted off MedAid cert and Annuity Cert took 1 month to sort out.

[Dubbin]

Here's my story. Would appreciate any input.

Been e-filing the farms VAT returns for a number of years now. Normally the procedure is as follows. When you submit a return that deviates from your normal claim history you get notice that you should upload supporting documents. This usually means the detail (e.g. Pastel summary and 5 biggest invoices) Then you get audited and sometimes someone phones you with questions. (Always very professional) If everything is in order the claim gets paid out, otherwise they advise you on how to correct and resubmit.

Here's where the story gets funny. On the 15th of last month I got 9 simultaneous emails of pending SARS correspondence. Turns out they want supporting documents of 9 previous 2 month periods that has already been paid out. Two of those periods they already requested supporting documents when I submitted them about two years ago. I complied and claims was then paid out. When calling the helpline you only get reminded that it is SARS legal right to audit you anytime for any number of periods over a 5 year history. I took all the filed documents of the relevant periods out of storage and stacked it. The pile was 1.2 meters tall. Is this fair?

Jippieee I got notice of 6 more just now. Some of them going back to October 2011. This is getting ridiculous.

[Delgado]

SARS got captured. That's what happened.

Yup refleecing the same sheep! The marxists are running out of cash it seems.....

[Tumbleweed]

                                                                                                                        

MEDIA STATEMENT

 

efiling system down on Friday 9 DecEMber from 15:00 

 

 

PRETORIA, Wednesday 7 December 2016 - SARS wishes to inform taxpayers that its eFiling system will be unavailable on Friday 9 December 2016 between 15h00 and 22h00 due to a substantial IT system upgrade and maintenance.

SARS wishes to apologise to all taxpayers for the inconvenience.

 

Contact sarsmedia@sars.gov.za or call Sandile Memela at 082 800 3750.

 

 

SARS Media

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer

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