SARS Tax Practitioner

Readiness Programme

Module 1 of 8

Legislation

Copyright ©
 Learning Objective

At the end of this module, you are expected to

▪ Understand the role you play as a tax practitioner in advancing

voluntary compliance

▪ Understand how the legislation, code of conduct, and the

recognition criteria for controlling bodies influences:

▪ Your conduct

▪ The advice you provide to your clients

▪ The consequence of noncompliance

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 SARS Strategic Objectives

Function of the
Commissioner

3 Areas you can influence

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 Clarity and Certainty

Provide Clarity & Certainty of tax obligations

As a tax practitioner you are required to educate your clients on:

▪ Both their rights and their obligation as taxpayers
▪ The correct income and deductions to declare
▪ The accuracy of records and the importance of record keeping.

Tax practitioners are urged to help taxpayers to understand the progress on

their tax matters by communicating timeously with them on their tax status with
SARS.

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 Make it Easy

Make it Easy for Taxpayers & Traders to Comply & fulfil their obligations

A tax practitioner can make it easy for his/her clients by:

▪ Having shared access on e-filing. This allows their clients to navigate the system without fear
of making mistakes.
▪ Allowing them to view tax returns on e-filing so they can see where and how income and
deductions are completed on the returns. This builds their capability to better understand the
concept of return completion.
▪ Explaining the importance of submitting supporting documents requested by SARS within the
specified turnaround times.
▪ Releasing their eFiling profiles when appropriate. When a client no longer uses your services,
it is your obligation to release their profile (whether to the client or to another tax practitioner)
to enable the fulfilment of tax obligations.

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 Make Non-Compliance Hard and Costly

Detect Taxpayers and Traders who do not comply, and make non-compliance
hard and costly obligations
Tax practitioners can prevent this from occurring by making it less complex and less costly for
clients to become and remain compliant. This can be done in the following ways:
▪ Advising clients on methods to maintain proper records which would make it easier, and
quicker to access. Clients can be instructed on how to sequence records. This will allow the
tax practitioner to focus on other more strategic matters of tax compliance. It can be used to
grow the client base.
▪ Making it less costly to comply by using electronic services provided by SARS to raise
inquiries on behalf of clients using the Digital Channels. Instead of contacting the Contact
Centre or the SARS Branch Offices, the Digital and Self Help channels can be used.
▪ Submitting tax returns and payments on time. This will prevent the imposition of penalties
and interest.

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TAA - Criteria Document - Code of Conduct

All three play a part in regulating the conduct of registered tax practitioners.

Criteria document
Controlling Body - for the recognition
Code of Conduct of controlling
bodies

Tax Administration Act

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TAA - Criteria Document - Code of Conduct

Tax Administration Act

▪ Legislation in terms of the Tax Administration Act, refers to Sections 239 to

Section 243, that govern tax practitioners. These sections of the Act focuses
on different aspects of the Law that tax practitioners need to abide by.

▪ Understanding the application of the Law plays an important role for tax
practitioners as it has an overall impact with their RCB, SARS and clients,
when not adhering to the Act. For example, it can lead to them being
deregistered as a tax practitioner.

▪ The full extract of the Sections mentioned above can be viewed under
Annexure A of the presentation

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 TAX ADMINISTRATION ACT

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 Outline of Section 239 to Section 243

Section 239 – Definitions

▪ Controlling Body
▪ Recognised Controlling Body
▪ Registered Tax Practitioner

Section 240 – Registration of tax practitioners

▪ Section 240(1) – registration requirements Read in conjunction with
Section 234 to 238 which
▪ Section 240(2) – exemptions to registration focuses on criminal offences
▪ Section 240(3) – preclusion from registration

Section 240A – Recognition of controlling bodies

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 Outline of Section 239 to Section 243

Section 241- Complaint to a Controlling body

▪ Section 241(1) – complaint to a Controlling body
▪ Section 241(2) – complaint to a Recognised Controlling Body

Section 242 – Disclosure of information regarding complaint

Section 243 – Complaint considered by a Controlling Body

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 Legislation: Definitions
239. Definitions — In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the
following terms, if in single quotation marks, have the following meanings—

‘controlling body’ means a body established, whether voluntarily or under a

law, with power to take disciplinary action against a person who, in carrying on a
profession, contravenes the applicable rules or code of conduct for the
profession; and

‘recognised controlling body’ means a ‘controlling body’ recognised by the

Commissioner under section 240A.

‘registered tax practitioner’ means a person registered as a tax practitioner in

terms of section 240(1).

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 Legislation: Synopsis
A person can only be referred to as a tax practitioner if he/she is registered with a
Recognised Controlling Body (RCB) and SARS.

This means that he/she has met all the requirements set out by the RCB,
successfully completed the SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness Programme, and
does not full under any category of section 240(3).

A person who does not meet the above-mentioned requirements may not submit
tax returns or assist taxpayers in the application of a tax Act for a fee.
Note:
▪ If a tax practitioner registers with more than one RCB, they will need to inform
SARS which is their primary RCB as the registration process with SARS allows
one RCB only.

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 Legislation: Registration
Section 240 – Registration of tax practitioners
▪ Section 240(1) – registration requirements – An individual may register as a
tax practitioner, (excludes partnerships and companies).
▪ With which bodies do they need to register and what are their obligations.
▪ Section 240(2) – exemption from registration – Who may not register as a tax
practitioner and why.
Example:
1. Where the tax advice or service is incidental to the provision of the main
service, there may not be a requirement to register as a tax practitioner,
as the requirements set out in the TAA are not met. E.g. an Insurance
Broker who sells Retirement Annuities, and as an add on service -
providing advise to his clients on its tax implication.
2. Employees of a tax practitioner, who work under supervision of the tax
practitioner, will not be required to register as a tax practitioner.

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 Legislation: Synopsis S240 – S240A
▪ Section 240(3) – preclusion from registration
▪ A person may not be registered as a tax practitioner if he/she was
▪ convicted of a criminal offence or any offence involving dishonesty in the
proceeding 5 years, or
▪ Removed by a controlling body due to misconduct in the proceeding 5
year.
▪ SARS may deregistered a registered tax practitioner if he/she
▪ was convicted of a criminal offence or any offence involving dishonesty,
or
▪ Continuous tax non-compliance.

Note: In the event that a criminal case is not finalised against the tax
practitioner, but the tax practitioner repeats the offence, SARS may stop
any registration or suspend such registration of a tax practitioner in terms
of S240(4) of the TAACT.

▪ Section 240A – Recognition of controlling bodies

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List of Recognised Controlling Bodies - June 2022
The following controlling bodies were automatically recognised in terms of the Act:
▪ Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA)
▪ Legal Practice Council (LPC)

List of Commissioner Recognised Controlling Bodies

▪ Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
▪ Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA, formerly known as CSSA)
▪ Financial Planning Institute (FPI)
▪ Institute of Accounting and Commerce (IAC)
▪ SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA)
▪ SA Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA)
▪ SA Institute of Taxation (SAIT)
▪ The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
▪ Southern African Institute for Business Accountants (SAIBA)

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 Reporting Unprofessional Conduct

Complaints to RCBs due to unprofessional conduct in terms of section 241:

▪ Withholding taxpayers’ eFiling profiles, which prevents taxpayers from being tax
compliant,
▪ Failure to perform tax practitioners’ duties,
▪ Fraudulent submission of returns, e.g., submitting nil return while knowing
taxpayer is trading
▪ Fabricating SARS letters in order to charge taxpayers for additional fees,
▪ Charging contingency fees, i.e., charge a % of refunds taxpayers received from
SARS or reduction of taxpayer's liabilities
▪ Abusive behavior towards taxpayers or SARS employees
▪ Illegal use of SARS trademark and logo

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 Reporting Unprofessional Conduct

Tax practitioners deregistered due to convictions on the following and

sentenced to a period of imprisonment exceeding two years without the
option of a fine [section 240(a) to (c)]:
▪ theft, fraud, forgery or uttering a forged document,
▪ Offence involving dishonesty
▪ Serious tax offence

Consequence
The deregistered tax practitioners have wait for at least five years before being
allowed to register as a tax practitioner again. This is to satisfy the requirements
in section 240(3)(a) to (c).

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 Reporting Unprofessional Conduct

Tax non-compliance in their personal capacity* [sec240(3)(d)]:

▪ 132 tax practitioners were deregistered in 2021/2022

* Personal capacity: including the practitioners’ personal compliance,

and his/her tax practice’s tax compliance.

Consequence
The deregistered practitioners have to wait at least 6 months before
being able to re-register as a tax practitioner. This is to satisfy the
requirements in section 240(3)(d).

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 Legislation - Complaints
Section 241- Complaint to controlling body
▪ Section 241(1) – complaint to a controlling body – A senior SARS official would submit a
complaint to a relevant controlling body relating to the conduct of a tax practitioner
regarding his/her conduct stemming from either a complaint received from a taxpayer or
identified risk established.
▪ Section 241 (2) – complaint to a RCB – A senior SARS official would inform a RCB if a tax
practitioner acted outside of the Law, unlawfully submitted tax returns, gave wrong
information, gross negligence.
▪ Section 242 – Disclosure of information regarding complaint - Despite section 69, the
senior SARS official lodging a complaint under section 241 may disclose the taxpayer
information as in the opinion of the official is necessary to lay before the ‘controlling body’
to which the complaint is made.
▪ Section 243 – Complaint considered by Controlling Body - The complaint is to be
considered by the ‘controlling body’ according to its rules or code of conduct.

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 Legislation: Synopsis S241 – S243

▪ It is important to remember that section 240(1) and 240(2), is aligned to the

Code of Conduct of a RCB
▪ Taxpayers who are clients of a tax practitioner may submit a complaint to
SARS and the RCB
▪ A tax practitioner taking on a new client from an existing tax practitioner, may
submit a complaint to the RCB if the previous tax practitioner was in violation
of the Act or Code of conduct.
▪ Tax practitioners are recommended and encouraged to report any tax
practitioners who are in breach of the legislative requirements including the
necessary codes of conduct of controlling bodies.

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 Legislation: Criminal Offences
Section 234 - Criminal offences relating to noncompliance with Tax Acts
▪ Issuing of false documents, fail to notify SARS of changes, Fail to register as a tax practitioner
under S240, does not retain proper records
Section 235 - Evasion of tax and obtaining undue refunds by fraud or theft
▪ Submitting fraudulent documentation, false statements in order to defraud the state
Section 236 - Criminal offences relating to secrecy provisions
▪ A person who contravenes the provisions of section 67 (2), (3) or (4), 68 (2), 69 (1) or (6) or 70
(5) is guilty of an offence and, upon conviction, is subject to a fine or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding two years.
Section 237 - Criminal offences relating to filing return without authority
▪ Submitting returns without someone's permission, no Power of Attorney (POA) in place
Section 238 - Jurisdiction of courts in criminal matters
▪ A person charged with a tax offence may be tried in respect of that offence by a court having
jurisdiction within any area in which that person resides or carries on business, in addition to
jurisdiction conferred upon a court by any other law.

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Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

22
23
 SARS Tax Practitioner
Readiness Programme

Module 2 of 8
Criteria for the Recognition of Controlling Bodies

Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to

▪ Understand criteria for the recognition of a controlling body

▪ Minimum qualifications and experience requirements;

▪ Continuing professional education requirements;

▪ Codes of ethics and conduct;

▪ Disciplinary process and procedures.

▪ Understand the impact of not adhering the Code of Conduct of

RCBs

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 Criteria for SARS to Recognise
a Controlling Body
For a Controlling Body to be recognised by the Commissioner of SARS as a Recognised
Controlling Body, it must meet the following criteria:
1. The body must be approved in terms of section 30B of the Income Tax Act for purposes
of section 10(1)(d)(iv),
2. The body must have a minimum of 1 000 members when applying for recognition or
there are reasonable prospects of having 1 000 members within a year of applying,
3. The body must ensure with regards to natural persons that the following are maintained
relevant and effective:

a) Minimum qualifications and experience requirements;

b) Continuing professional education requirements;

c) Codes of ethics and conduct;

d) Disciplinary process and procedures.

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Recognition Criteria: Minimum Qualifications

For registration of a tax practitioner on and after 1 June 2022, the following
requirements apply:

NQF Levels
a) NQF level 6 and above with at least one accounting module and one tax
module, plus at least 1 year’s tax working experience,
b) NQF level 5 plus at least 4 years’ tax working experience, or
c) NQF level 4 plus 10 years' tax working experience.
Please note that the tax working experience must be verifiable by the employers
or clients.
AND
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness Programme
Successful completion of the SARS Readiness Programme: From 1 July 2022, a
tax practitioner must attend SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness Programme and
successfully pass the assessment.

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 Recognition Criteria:
Continuous Professional Education
Criteria – CPE

Minimum of 18 verifiable CPE hours per year, which consists of:

▪ 10 tax related hours,
▪ 2 ethics related hours, and
▪ 6 hours relating to the service provided.

Please note: CPE records of individual tax practitioners must be retained for
five years.

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 Minimum Regulatory Codes

▪ Codes of Ethics and Conduct: Honesty & Integrity

▪ Codes of Ethics and Conduct: Professional Competence
▪ Codes of Ethics and Conduct: Confidentiality and Fees
▪ Codes of Ethics and Conduct: Disciplinary Code & Procedures

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Professional Competence
Tax practitioners must attain and maintain knowledge and skills relevant to the
service provided to clients. They must
▪ Take reasonable care in ascertaining a client’s state of affairs, to the extent
that ascertaining the state of those affairs is relevant to a statement being
made on behalf of the client.
▪ Ensure that taxation laws are applied correctly and lawfully to the
circumstances of the particular client.
▪ Not knowingly obstruct the proper administration of the tax laws.
▪ Ensure that they advise their clients of their rights and obligations under the
taxation laws in the country.
▪ Exercise due diligence and care in their interaction with SARS on behalf of
their clients.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Professional Competence
Examples of when a tax practitioner might be in breach of this code:

▪ Withholding a client’s e-filing profile due to fees owed by the client

▪ Not advising a client regarding the correct date of liability and registration for a
tax type (e.g. client’s turnover exceeds R1 million, but the tax practitioner
does not advise the client to register for VAT)
▪ Providing questionable advice which does not match the facts of the matter:
e.g. An employee has reached retirement age but the employer still needs the
services of such employee. The tax practitioner has advised the employee to
open a company so that the employer can continue paying a salary to the
employee. However, the employee is not issuing invoices, and does not meet
the definition of an independent contractor.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Honesty & Integrity
Tax practitioners should be straightforward and honest in all professional and
business relationships. Integrity also implies fair dealing and truthfulness.
▪ Tax practitioners must be compliant in respect of the taxation laws, in the conduct of their
personal affairs. A Tax Compliance Status is to be provided to their RCB.
▪ Tax practitioners must not knowingly be associated with reports, returns, communications
or other information where the practitioner believes that the information:

▪ contains a materially false or misleading statement;

▪ contains statements or information furnished recklessly;

▪ omits or obscures information required to be included, where such omission or

obscurity would be misleading.
▪ When a tax practitioner becomes aware that the above has occurred, the he/she must
cease to represent the taxpayer concerned if the taxpayer does not remedy the situation.
▪ This should be done in line with TAACT, as these are chargeable offences under the Act.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Honesty & Integrity
Examples of when a tax practitioner might be in breach of this code:

▪ Tax Practitioners are non-compliant with tax laws in their personal capacity –
they have outstanding returns or debt.
▪ Under declaration (e.g. Failure to submit accurate figures from the accounting
practice), Late/Non Filing of returns, Late/Non Payment of tax debt without
payment arrangement or suspension of payment in place.
▪ When a client requests that you submit NIL returns for them, knowing that
they are trading or have disposed of assets.
▪ Impersonate clients when engaging with SARS

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Confidentiality and Fees
Confidentiality of the Client
▪ Tax practitioners must maintain the confidentiality of their clients and should
not disclose client information to a third party without the clients’ permission,
unless there is a legal obligation to do so.
▪ Information disclosed by the client should not be used by the tax practitioner
for personal gain or advantage.

Fees
▪ Fees charged by a tax practitioner for work undertaken on behalf of a client
must be commensurate with the nature and complexity of the task at hand.
▪ The charging of a contingency fee, for the completion of tax returns, is not an
acceptable form of remuneration for tax practitioners.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Criminal Status Verification
Criminal status must be verified by RCBs as follows:

▪ For tax practitioners registered on or after 1st June 2022:

An independently verified criminal free certificate in terms of section 240(3) of the Act
must be produced and provided to RCBs.
Thereafter, an annual confirmation is required that the status remains the same.
Following this, a sworn in affidavit indicating the tax practitioners are criminal free in
terms of section 240(3) of the Act, must be produced and provided to RCBs once every
5 years.

▪ For tax practitioner registered prior to 1 June 2022:

At commencement of the new criteria, a sworn in affidavit is required to be produced
and provided to the RCBs attesting to criminal free status. Thereafter an annual
confirmation is required that the status remains the same. A sworn in affidavit must then
be produced and provided to RCBs once every 5 years.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Disciplinary Code & Procedures
▪ Complaints may be lodged to the controlling body by SARS, clients, general
public or other professional bodies.
▪ The disciplinary code must address the complaints that may be lodged in
terms of Section 241 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011.
▪ Disciplinary processes and procedures must be in place.
▪ Sanctions must fit the offence committed.
▪ There must be a range of sanctions that can address the severity and the
effect of the non-compliant behaviour of a member. This could include
warnings; recommendations for the tax practitioner to undertake educational
courses to increase competency in their practice; financial sanctions. and
removal as a member, etc.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Disciplinary Code & Procedures
▪ The sanction must effectively change the behaviour of the tax practitioner.
▪ Repeated non-compliant behaviour must receive a harsher sanction than was imposed
previously.
▪ Outcomes of all disciplinary hearings of tax practitioners that have been found guilty,
must be reported to SARS as well as the client concerned.
▪ When a disciplinary hearing results in the removal of a member, the identity and the
sanctioning of the member must be published on the controlling body’s website.
▪ The controlling body must retain jurisdiction over its members, notwithstanding that they
may have resigned, provided that the conduct under investigation took place at the time
they were a member of the controlling body.
E.g. A tax practitioner cannot resign from his/her current RCB and join a new RCB if the
current case is not finalised by the current RCB. This will not finalise the case in
question.

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 Codes of Ethics and Conduct:
Disciplinary Code & Procedures
▪ The controlling body must require members to declare that they have not been
removed from a controlling body for misconduct and that they do not have a
criminal record, as set out in Section 240(3) of the Tax Administration Act,
2011. The controlling body must either agree procedures with SARS to verify a
random selection of its members’ criminal records or assist SARS with the
verification of the criminal records of members randomly identified by SARS.
Selected members must provide the recognised controlling body with the
necessary proof.
▪ A tax practitioner removed by a recognised controlling body for serious
misconduct cannot be accepted as a member of another recognised
controlling body.

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Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

15
SARS Tax Practitioner
Readiness Programme
Module 3 of 8
How to Register as A Tax
Practitioner
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

▪ Understand how to register as a tax practitioner
▪ Understand how to configure your tax practitioner
registration
▪ Understand how to add your tax practitioner portfolio to
your eFiling profile

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

The registration is a three-step process:

▪ First, register with a RCB as a tax practitioner. The RCB will then submit your
details to SARS via eFiling platform for the RCB.

▪ Second, log onto eFiling using your log in details, and update your registered
particulars indicating that you are a tax practitioner. This is done on the RAV01
(Registration, Amendments and Verification form).

▪ Third, once the information has been updated, you would need to select the
RCB you belong to.

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

Steps to Follow:

▪ Log into your e-filing profile using your Primary user log in credentials.

▪ Once logged in, navigate to the screen as shown on the next slide, in order to
finalise the process of the registration.

▪ Click on Home tab (Top left)

▪ Maintain SARS registered details (left hand side tab)

▪ The RAV01 will be generated.

▪ Scroll down to “My Tax Practitioner details”

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling
Maintain SARS registered details tab (left hand side tab)

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling
The RAV01 form will generate with the fields that need to be completed

▪ Registration Status – Registered or Unregistered

▪ Registration Number
▪ Appointment Date (CCYYMMDD) – indicates the date the tax practitioner
was officially registered as a tax practitioner.
▪ Controlling Body
▪ Deactivate Registration

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

▪ If you are registered with a Recognised Controlling Body (RCB) and the RCB has
submitted your information to SARS, you need to select your RCB from the list of 11
RCBs in the Controlling body field. However, if you are not registered with a RCB or the
RCB has not submitted your information to SARS, you will not be able to select a RCB,
hence not able to complete the tax practitioner registration process.

Top tip: The tax practitioner’s status will

only reflect as “Registered” on SARS
systems once the RCB and the practitioner
have successfully submitted information to
SARS and the details match.

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 Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

▪ After you have selected the Controlling Body, select the “Done” button on the RAV01
page to proceed.

▪ After you have submitted the RAV01 form, you will receive the following message, select
“Continue”:

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 Obtaining my PR Number

▪ You need to repeat this step, click on Maintain SARS Registered Details

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 Obtaining My PR Number

▪ Click on my Tax practitioner details:

▪ The PR number will be prepopulated.

▪ The tax practitioner can now copy the PR number in
order to Configure it.

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 Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

▪ Adding a tax practitioner portfolio to an existing Profile

A tax practitioner may register a new tax practitioner portfolio by clicking on

‘My Profile’ >>> ‘Portfolio Management’ >>>> ‘Add Portfolio’

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

▪ Tax practitioner configuration

▪ This functionality enables tax practitioners to confirm their tax practitioner status at
SARS and allow tax practitioners to link practitioner users to other activated
practitioner user profiles.

▪ On the Organisation profile, ensure that the correct taxpayer is selected from the
taxpayer list in the event of registering an individual as a tax practitioner.

▪ Select the “Services” menu tab and “Additional Services”. Click on “Tax
Practitioner Registration

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Tax Practitioner Registration Process via eFiling

▪ Select: Activate Tax Practitioner

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Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

13
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme

Module 4 of 8
Getting SARS Ready
Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to understand:

▪ The importance of a Power of Attorney
▪ The types of shared access on eFiling
▪ How to set up your primary login on eFiling

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 Power of Attorney
SPPOA – Special Power of Attorney
To appoint any taxpayer or representative taxpayer, except a tax practitioner, to act on
his/her behalf the SPPOA must be accompanied by:
▪ a copy of the taxpayer’s identity document;
▪ a copy of the representative taxpayer’s identity document.
TPPOA – Special Power of Attorney for Tax Practitioners
To be completed by a taxpayer or representative taxpayer to appoint a tax practitioner to
act on his/her behalf
ASPOA – Authority on Special Power of Attorney by a Tax Practitioner
To be completed by a tax practitioner to further delegate an employee to act on a client’s
behalf (The TPPOA must be submitted simultaneously with this ASPOA when the
delegated employee visits the SARS office)
NB: With the new system enhancement on eFiling, taxpayers are required to
approve online POA’s for tax type transfers

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 Power of Attorney
▪ Forms presented to the SARS branches must be original documents, with the exception
of taxpayers who are overseas. These forms: must be presented within its validity
period (which could be anything between one month and 24 months), must contain the
required information, and must be duly signed by the person transferring their authority
to someone else to act on their behalf.
▪ If a change is made to an existing representative taxpayer, and such existing
representative taxpayer is authorised by way of a Power of Attorney, it is required that
the taxpayer submits a new Power of Attorney, for the new representative taxpayer and
ensures that the old Power of Attorney is revoked.
▪ The confidentiality provisions of the Tax Administration Act are very important, and
SARS will only deal with persons who are properly authorised to act on behalf of a
taxpayer.

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 Important Considerations

▪ Power of Attorney – Tax practitioners are not allowed to approve an online POA
on behalf of a client, or insert their contact details, as if it is that of the taxpayer.
▪ Transfer of tax types – the new tax practitioner must request that the client’s tax
profile be transferred to the newly appointed tax practitioner.
▪ By sharing your tax practitioner number (PR number) and login details with your
staff (clerks, administrators) members, it remains your responsibility to manage,
track activities and monitor interactions with SARS.
▪ Activities performed by staff using the main tax practitioner details will be seen as
the main practitioner conducting the transactions with SARS and thus taking full
responsibility for these transactions.
▪ The correct roles and rights needs to be assigned to users on eFiling with their
own login details and passwords to mitigate risks.

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 Shared Access on E Filing
▪ Shared access is a function available on eFiling, which ensures that an individual has full
control/knowledge of his/her tax affairs, regardless of whether a tax practitioner completes
and/or submits tax returns on his/her behalf.
▪ Types of different shared access functions entail:

▪ Full Shared Access means that the client, as well as the tax practitioner, have full and
equal access to all the information relating to the associated tax type(s). Both the
client and the tax practitioner are able to view, fill in and submit tax returns to SARS
and update the client’s personal details, etc.

If a client has selected “Obtain Full Shared Access”, then both the client and the tax
practitioner will get all correspondence from SARS. The correspondence will
automatically be sent to each of the email addresses on the profile.

▪ View only Shared Access means that the client is only able to view the transactions
done by the tax practitioner.

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 How to setup your Primary Username

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Youtube Link

Please visit the following link on the SARS TV channel on YouTube to access the video

https://youtu.be/6C0nZjZVaEc

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Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

8
 SARS Tax Practitioner
Readiness Programme
Module 5

Channels of Engagement
 Learning Objective

At the end of this module, you are expected to

▪ Understand the role each channel of engagement plays

in assisting tax practitioners.

▪ Understand the scope of each channel of engagement

Note: In this module the importance of the Power of

Attorney will also be emphasised.

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 Channels of Engagement

Branch
Office

PCC
MobiApp
email

Contact
SOQS
Centre

eFiling

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 Power of Attorney
SPPOA – Special Power of Attorney
To appoint any taxpayer or representative taxpayer, except a tax practitioner, to act on his/her
behalf the SPPOA must be accompanied by:
▪ a copy of the taxpayer’s identity document;
▪ a copy of representative taxpayer’s identity document.

TPPOA – Special Power of Attorney for Tax Practitioners

▪ To be completed by a taxpayer or representative taxpayer to appoint a tax practitioner to

act on his/her behalf

ASPOA – Authority on Special Power of Attorney by a Tax Practitioner

▪ To be completed by a tax practitioner to further delegate an employee to act on a client’s behalf
(The TPPOA must be submitted simultaneously with this ASPOA to SARS offices)

NB: with the new system enhancement on eFiling, taxpayers are required to approve online POA’s for tax
type transfers

3
 Check List when attempting
to resolve an issue
Before contacting SARS, ask yourself the following questions:
▪ What is the nature of the query?
▪ Are there different work processes that need to work together to achieve
resolution (e.g. returns outstanding and request for deferred arrangement).
Do I need to therefore do something before I lodge a query, or do I need to
lodge two separate queries?
▪ Is there a self-help option I can make use of to retrieve the necessary
answer?
▪ Are there any FAQs that answer my question?
▪ Is the query within turnaround time?
▪ What is the most appropriate service channel to use?
By following the abovementioned steps you will be ensuring that your query is
dealt with speedily and efficiently

4
 SARS Online Self-Service

5
 SARS Online Self-Service

6
 SARS Online Self-Service

7
 SARS Online Self-Service

8
 SARS Online Self-Service

9
 SARS Online Self-Service

10
 Virtual Appointments

▪ Ensure that you honour your appointments

▪ If appointments cannot be honoured, inform SARS and cancel the

appointment.

▪ Ensure that all documentation is uploaded before the appointment

date.

By following the abovementioned steps, you will be ensuring that your

query is dealt with speedily and efficiently

11
 SARS Contact Centre

• Option 1 is for tax practitioners who need

assistance with a service not available online or
part of a self service channel.
• Once selected, you have to authenticate
yourself. This helps SARS identify the tax
practitioner, the type of queries and appropriate
future actions (mitigation)

• Daily volumes for this queue can be reduced by between 35% calls if the service
options are utilised. This will lead to improved answering times.
• Calling unnecessarily, increases queue wait times.
• Check status dashboards using eFiling to see if there has been progress in queries
lodged

12
 Services Tax pcc@sars.gov.za Contact Branch (by EFiling SARS Mobi SARS Online
Practitioner Centre** appointment App Query System
Unit* only)

Software/Systems Related

All eFiling Queries ✓ ✓

All e@syFile Queries ✓ ✓

Resetting of eFiling password ✓ ✓

Registration Maintenance

1st time registration (Personal ✓ ✓

Income Tax) *see exceptions
below

1st time registration Trust/Body ✓ Only if the ✓ Only if the

Corporates trustee trustee
*see exceptions below acting on acting on
behalf of the behalf of
trust the trust
accompanie accompani
s the tax es the tax
practitioner practitioner

1st time registration VAT ✓

*see exceptions below

1st time registration PAYE ✓

*see exceptions below

Update of ID Number/Company ✓ ✓
registration Number

VAT Interview ✓ ✓

13
 Services Tax pcc@sars.gov.za Contact Branch (by EFiling SARS Mobi SARS Online
Practitioner Centre** appointment App Query System
Unit* only)

Registration Maintenance

Update of Registered particulars ✓ ✓

Deregistration ✓

Banking detail changes ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Banking detail verification ✓ ✓ ✓

Trustee/Director verification ✓ ✓ ✓

Merging of profiles for single ✓

registration

Reprint of registration confirmation ✓ ✓ ✓

Return Completion

Personal Income Tax Returns Advisory Advisory ✓ ✓

(ITR12)

Company Income Tax Returns Advisory Advisory ✓

(ITR14)

Trust Income Tax Returns Advisory Advisory ✓

(ITR12T)

VAT 201 Advisory Advisory ✓

EMP201/EMP501/EMP601 Advisory Advisory ✓

14
 Services Tax pcc@sars.gov.za Contact Branch (by EFiling SARS Mobi SARS Online
Practitioner Centre** appointment App Query System
Unit* only)

Return Completion

IRP6 Advisory Advisory ✓

Tax Compliance Status (TCS Advisory Advisory ✓ ✓ ✓

application)

Tax Directives Advisory Advisory ✓

Application for Tax Directive Fixed Advisory Advisory ✓

% IRP3b

Emigration Clearances Advisory Advisory ✓ ✓ ✓

Foreign Investment Advisory Advisory ✓ ✓ ✓

Request for remission (PIT, CIT, Advisory Advisory ✓

VAT)

Notice of Objections (PIT, CIT, Advisory Advisory ✓

VAT, PAYE) *see exceptions
below

Request for Correction Advisory Advisory ✓

Notice of Appeal (PIT, CIT, VAT, Advisory Advisory ✓

PAYE)

ADR1 (Trusts and Donations) ✓ Advisory ✓

ADR2 (Trusts and Donations) ✓ Advisory ✓

15
 Services Tax pcc@sars.gov.za Contact Branch (by EFiling SARS Mobi SARS Online
Practitioner Centre** appointment App Query System
Unit* only)

Return Completion

Request for Returns ✓ ✓

Voluntary Disclosure Programme ✓

Accounts

Requests for Statements From 1999 to From 1999 to From From 1999 to After 2008 After 2008
2008 only 2008 only 1999 to 2008 only only
2008
only

Re allocations ✓ ✓ ✓

Requests for waiving of penalties ✓

and interest

Queries relating to refunds ✓

Offset of credits ✓ ✓

Debt Management

Under R100000 debt ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

arrangements

Request of suspension of Advisory ✓ ✓

obligation to pay

Over R100000 debt arrangements ✓ Advisory ✓

16
 Services Tax pcc@sars.gov.za Contact Branch (by EFiling SARS Mobi SARS Online
Practitioner Centre** appointment App Query System
Unit* only)

Debt Management

Request for debt equalization ✓

Other

VAT vendor search Advisory ✓ ✓

Tax Practitioner verification Advisory ✓

Supporting documentation upload Advisory ✓ ✓ ✓

Reprint of notice of assessment Advisory ✓ ✓

Payments Advisory Advisory ✓ ✓

Tax Practitioner registration and Advisory ✓

verification

Transfer Duty Payments Advisory ✓

Advanced Tax Ruling ✓

Audit

Submitting documents for Audit ✓ ✓ ✓

Enquiry as to audit status ✓ ✓

17
 SARS service channels

▪ Service channels requiring human intervention should be the last point

of contact as opposed to first.
▪ The use of the self-service channel is the preferred option. This will
enable SARS to make use of its resources more efficiently in dealing
with queries that really matter to you

18
Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

19
20
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme
Module 6 of 8
Use of eFiling System
Copyright ©
 Login to SARS eFiling

1
 Portfolio Management
Click on “My Profile”, then click on “Portfolio Management”.

2
 Portfolio Management
The Portfolio Management Screen will display for you to add
a new portfolio.

3
 Portfolio Management
Click on “Add Portfolio”.
Enter the portfolio name and select the portfolio type from
the drop-down menu, click on “Add Portfolio”

4
 Portfolio Management

The new portfolio will be successfully added.

5
 Portfolio Management
The added portfolio will be displayed under linked portfolios.

6
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
How to add clients to a portfolio? Click “Go To Portfolio” on
the portfolio where you wish to add the client.

7
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
Click “Organisations” on the top of the screen

8
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
Then click “Organisations” on the left hand side of the
screen

9
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
Select the submenu “Register New” to register a new client.
Select the Entity Type on the drop-down menu, then
complete all the field and click “Add Taxpayer”

10
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
If the taxpayer you are adding already exists on your
portfolio, you will get a message “The taxpayer you are
trying to add already exist on this portfolio” Then click on
“View Taxpayer”

11
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
If the taxpayer you are adding already exist on a different
portfolio, you will get the warning message. Click “Add
Taxpayer” if you wish to register the taxpayer on this
portfolio.

12
 Adding New Client to a Portfolio
After adding the taxpayer, you must add the taxpayer to the
group by selecting the group name and click “Continue”

13
 Adding a Tax type for the New Client
Click on “Manage Tax Types” to “Activate” the tax types of
the Entity.

14
 Adding a Tax type for the New Client
The list of tax types linked to the selected taxpayer
• Reference numbers
• Activation Status
• Action that can be selected for that number (e.g. request
activation, request tax type transfer, deactivate)
To activate or request transfer of tax types, tick the box
under “Action” and click on “Submit” at the bottom.

15
 Adding a Tax type for the New Client
Select the tick-boxes for the applicable actions required
(example): “Request Activation” or “Request Tax Type
Transfer” and click on “Submit” the status will change to
“Requested”, then click “Continue”.

16
 Adding a Tax type for the New Client
The status of the request will change to awaiting
authorisation and will require the current
Taxpayer/Representative of the tax number to authorise the
request via the SARS website in order to complete the
process

17
 Adding a Tax type for the New Client
If the Taxpayer/Representative authorise the request to
“Activate”, the status will change to “Successfully Activated”.
If the taxpayer/representative authorise the request to
transfer and there are previously submitted returns, the
Status will change to “Authorised schedule to run within 24
hours” to allow the transfer of historical submissions.

18
 Invite User
In order to Invite a new user to a portfolio select the correct
portfolio.

Click on “My Profile” on the left screen.

Then select “Portfolio Management”

19
 Invite User
Chose the portfolio by clicking on “Go to Portfolio”

20
 Invite User
Click on “User” from the top menu, then click on “User” on
the left menu.

21
 Invite User
Select “Identification Type”, Enter “ID number”, Enter
“Surname”, Click on “Invite”

22
 Invite User
Give the new user “Access Rights” on the next screen

23
 Invite User
The status will show “Awaiting Confirmation”.
Invitation can be “cancelled” by clicking “Cancel Invitation”
and the user can send a reminder by clicking the “Send
Reminder”

24
 Invite User
Accepting the Invitation
SMS and an email notification will be sent to the person who has been invited to
be a user on an organisation or tax practitioner’s portfolio.

Log on to your eFiling profile.

• Select “My Profile”
• Select “Portfolio Management”
• The User Invitation will display. Click on “Accept”.

25
 Invite User
Accepting the Invitation
The new user will be sent an OTP (One Time Pin) via the preferred means of
contact (cell phone or email)

26
 Invite User
Accepting the Invitation
The message will come up confirming that the Portfolio has been linked. The
linked portfolio will move to “Linked Portfolio”

27
 Invite User

28
Contact us
We’ve made it easier for you
Go Digital!
• Download the SARS MobiApp via your app store
• Register for eFiling

▪ Need an Individual Tax Number?

Register for eFiling and you will be automatically registered for personal income tax
and receive a tax reference number

▪ For more information on individual offerings, visit the:

SARS website on www.sars.gov.za and go to Individuals webpage

29
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme
Module 7 of 8
Employer Monthly submission
(EMP201) Part 1
Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to

understand how to use eFiling to:
▪ submit the EMP201 return
▪ submit Employment tax incentive claims (ETI)

1
PAYE Monthly Declaration – eFiling
Youtube Link

Please visit the following link on the SARS TV channel on Youtube to access the video

https://youtu.be/-StKs_RY4-0

3
 Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

4
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme
Module 7 of 8
Employer Tax Season Made Easy
Part 2
Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to understand

how to use eFiling to:
▪ Submit EMP501s (bi-annual and annual reconciliations)
▪ Using the correct Source Codes
▪ Utilizing ETI
▪ Setting up e@syfile

1
How to submit for EMP501 on eFiling
YouTube Link

Please visit the following link on the SARS TV channel on YouTube to access the video

https://youtu.be/i95muVWhOQg

3
 e@syfile
In the event that the employer has more than 50 employees, employers need to
make use of e@syfile software that can be downloaded from the SARS website.

Important things to remember:

▪ Make sure that your PC is compatible to download and operate e@syfile
▪ e@syfile is an offline system, in order to submit to SARS you will be need to
insert your eFiling login details
▪ When registering, the main username will always be “Admin”
▪ Make sure that you back up your data base on e@syfile
▪ Always update your software when prompted to do so
▪ Always read pop up messages before clicking “OK”

4
 e@syfile

5
 e@syfile

6
 e@syfile
e@syFile Employer setup
▪ First time users will have to complete a quick user registration after
installing the application.

▪ Existing users do not need to repeat the registration setup after updating or
installing/re-installing the application.

▪ Your e@syFile Employer database will not be removed during un-

installation or re-installation.

TIP: Always ensure that you have a current backup as a precaution when you
update or re-install the software

7
 e@syfile
User registration/setup

You can’t change the ADMIN user name,

simply provide a password and useful
password hint.
Select logins for a second and third user,
and provide passwords and password hints
to finalise the setup.
Password format: Use at least 8 characters,
including 1 capital letter, 1 small letter, 1
number and 1 special character.
Please note: a full stop or a comma are not
considered special characters

8
 e@syfile
Employer with Payroll system
▪ First step is to import the payroll file (CSV) into the e@syFile Software.
This will ensure that all IRP5s/IT3s on payroll reflect on the software

▪ e@syFile Employer will validate the data included in an import file

against the SARS PAYE BRS

▪ If a file fails validation, user can view and save details of errors and/or
warnings from the Import Payroll File Log on the Utilities menu

9
 e@syfile
Import Payroll File

10
 e@syfile
Make sure that payroll file passes all validation

11
 Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

Find us on Facebook

12
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme
Module 8 – Part 1
Debt Management Process

Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

▪ Understand the SARS debt management process
▪ Understand the process of payment arrangements
▪ Understand the process for comprise request
▪ Understand the appointment of third parties to recover
the debt

1
 SARS Debt Management Process

▪ Assessments / Self assessments have a due date on which payment

must be made to SARS.

▪ Should the payment not be received on or before due date, the Debt
will become overdue and be referred to Debt Management for
collection actions / enforcement.

▪ Collection actions may include, but are not limited to, Third-Party
appointments, Civil Judgement and Writ of Execution.

2
 Options to Pay off Outstanding Amount
▪ Immediate payment of the amount outstanding (with reference to due dates
on assessment notice)

▪ Instalment payment arrangement – Section 167 and 168 of TAACT

▪ Compromise request – Section 200 – 204 of TAACT

Please note that:

▪ Immediate payment should always be recommended as the first option to the

taxpayer; however

▪ Should the taxpayer not be in the position to pay the full outstanding amount,
a request for instalment payment arrangement or compromise request can be
submitted for consideration.

3
 Process for Payment Arrangements
▪ In order to request a deferred arrangement, the taxpayer needs to be fully
compliant – all returns submitted up to date
▪ All deferred arrangement requests must be in writing if submitted to debt
management or done via eFiling platform
▪ Deferred arrangements that can be considered without any supporting
documents if:
▪ Requests up to 11 months and value not exceeding R100 000
▪ Requests up to 6 months and value not exceeding R5 million
▪ Deferred arrangements which requires supporting documents:
▪ Requests longer than 11 months and not exceeding R100 000
▪ Requests longer than 6 months and not exceeding R5 million
▪ All requests exceeding R5 million irrespective the period

4
 Process for Compromise Requests

▪ The request to compromise a tax debt should be in writing and signed by the
debtor;
▪ SARS will in return request all required information (Collections Information
Statement) and supporting documents, i.e., evidence which support the
debtor’s claims for not being able to make payment in full;
▪ Once required documents are submitted, a full financial analysis will be done
after which the case will be prepared for presentation to the Independent Debt
Committee for consideration;
▪ Please refer to Section 200 – 204 of the TAACT for further guidance
▪ Kindly note that taxpayers cannot request SARS to fully write off a tax debt

5
 Issuing of IT88A/IT88L

IT 88A
▪ Will be issued to employers to make a deduction from their employees’
salary if no deferred arrangement or suspension of payment in place.

IT88L
▪ Will be issued when a request / application for Tax Directive is
received.

NB: IT88A and IT88L are issued in terms of Section 179 of TAACT.

6
 Appointment of 3rd party per S179 of TAA
▪ A Senior SARS official may authorize a notice to a person who holds or owes
or will hold or owe any money to a taxpayer, to pay the money to SARS in
satisfaction of the taxpayer’s outstanding tax debt.
▪ In order for SARS to appoint a third-party the following steps would have
been taken:
▪ Taxpayer engagement / Meeting
▪ Final demand which grants the taxpayer 10 workings days to contact
SARS for arrangements. If the Taxpayer does not contact SARS to make
arrangements as proposed on the final demand, then Third-Party
Appointment will be issued
▪ Third-Party appointments maybe issued to: (but not limited to)
▪ Banks / Financial Institutions
▪ Employers
▪ Any person who owes money to the taxpayer

7
 Tax Practitioner Role to the Taxpayer

▪ To inform taxpayers timeously of amounts outstanding to SARS and

the different options available to pay the debt.

▪ To make taxpayers aware of actions SARS may take to recover

outstanding debt such as Third-Party Appointments, Civil judgements,
Writ of Executions, Personal Liability etc. - it will therefore be in
taxpayer’s best interest to pay the outstanding debt on or before due
date or to make alternative arrangements.

8
SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme

Module 8 - Part 2
Dispute Resolution
Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

▪ Understand the SARS dispute process
▪ Understand the difference between

▪ Request for remission

▪ Notice of objection

▪ Notice of appeal
▪ Understand the time lines for the above

1
 Dispute Resolution Process
▪ When taxpayers are aggrieved by an assessment, they have a right to dispute
it. Chapter 9 of the Tax Administration Act provides the legal framework for
these disputes across all tax types found in the tax Acts.
▪ Chapter 9 must be read in conjunction with the rules issued under Sec103
governing the following:
▪ The procedures to lodge an objection and appeal against an assessment or
‘decision’ that is subject to objection and appeal under Sec104(2);
▪ Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures under which SARS and the
person aggrieved by an assessment or ‘decision’ may resolve a dispute;
▪ The conduct and hearing of an appeal before a tax board or tax court

The rules under Sec103 of the Act were issued by the Minister after consultation
with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, by public notice on
11 July 2014 in Government Gazette No. 37819.

2
 Assessments and Decisions

What assessments and decisions can be objected against?

▪ Any assessment where the taxpayer is aggrieved;

▪ A decision by SARS to not extend the period for objection or appeal where the
taxpayer requested such extension;
▪ Any decision that may be objected to or appealed against under a tax Act
▪ A decision to not authorise a refund;
▪ A decision to not remit an understatement penalty
▪ A decision to not remit an administrative non-compliance penalty

3
 Valid Objection
The requirements for a valid objection are regulated by the rules, which rules will
essentially prescribe that an objection must
▪ Be lodged within 21 business days after the date of assessment;
▪ Be lodged in the prescribed form & specify the grounds of objection in full;
▪ Specify an address at which the taxpayer will accept notice and delivery of
documents for purposes of the dispute;
▪ Be signed by the taxpayer or duly authorised representative
▪ Be delivered at the SARS address specified for this purpose in the
assessment
An objection that does not comply with any of the above requirements will be
regarded as invalid and of no effect, unless the taxpayer remedies the invalidity
within a prescribed period after delivery of SARS’s notice of invalidity to the
taxpayer.

4
 SARS’ Decision on an Objection
The Act provides that SARS must consider a valid objection in the
manner and within the period prescribed under the Act and the rules.
The Act provides that
▪ SARS may disallow the objection or allow it either in whole or in part
and alter the assessment accordingly; and
▪ SARS must inform a taxpayer by notice of the disallowance or partial
allowance of an objection, which notice must
▪ state the basis for the decision; and
▪ contain a summary of the procedures for appeal

5
 Condonation of a Late Objection
The requirements for and limitations of the condonation of a late objection are
▪ An application for the extension of the period within which an objection must
be filed must be submitted to SARS in the prescribed form before the deadline
expires unless
▪ reasonable grounds exist for the delay and the application is submitted
within 30 business days of the deadline; or
▪ the delay is due to an exceptional circumstance referred to in Sec 218 or
any other circumstance of analogous seriousness and the application is
submitted within three years of the deadline;
▪ To qualify for an extension for a late objection, the taxpayer has to prove that
▪ for an extension of the objection period for a period of less than 30
business days, reasonable grounds exist for the delay; or
▪ for an extension of the objection period for a period of more than 30
business days, exceptional circumstances exist for the delay;

6
 Requirements for a Valid Appeal
After a taxpayer is notified of SARS’s decision on the objection, the taxpayer has
the right to appeal against the assessment or the decision in the prescribed form
and manner. The process to be followed to lodge a valid appeal is set out in the
rules, which essentially prescribe that an appeal must
▪ Be in the prescribed form;
▪ Be delivered to SARS within 30 days after the date of the notice of the
disallowance or partial allowance of an objection at the address prescribed in
the notice;
▪ Be signed by the taxpayer or duly authorised representative;
▪ indicate in respect of which grounds specified in the objection the taxpayer is
appealing;
▪ Indicate whether or not the taxpayer wishes to make use of the ADR
procedures to resolve the dispute, should these procedures be available; and
▪ Contain a request for a representative, when the ‘appellant’ wants to be
represented at the hearing by another person.

A notice of appeal that does not satisfy the requirements of the rules is not valid. If
the assessment that was objected against is altered after an objection, the appeal
is made against that altered assessment.

7
 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

▪ Provisions are made in the rules to resolve a dispute outside of the tax board
or tax court in line with principles of mediation.

▪ The ADR process applies only if there is mutual agreement between SARS
and the taxpayer.

▪ No one can be compelled to enter into the ADR process, and proceedings in
the appeal are suspended while the ADR procedure is ongoing.

▪ ADR proceedings are with full reservation of rights of both SARS and the
taxpayer and if ADR is unsuccessful, the taxpayer can pursue the appeal to
the tax board or the tax court.

8
 Practical Application
▪ A taxpayer can lodge a Request for Remission (RFR), Notice of Objection
(NOO) and Notice of Appeal (NOA) against interest and penalty on late
payments and assessments in relation to Personal Income Tax (PIT),
Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Pay-As-You-Earn
(PAYE), including Employment Tax Incentive (ETI), Unemployment Insurance
Fund (UIF) and Skills Development Levy (SDL).
▪ The Request for Remission must be completed on the prescribed form
(RFR01).
▪ The Notice of Objection, Notice of Appeal and Suspension of Payment
prescribed forms have the DISP01 form code.
▪ The NOO form for interest and penalty for late payment can only be completed
once the Request for Remission (RFR01) has been submitted to SARS and the
RFR has been partially allowed or disallowed.
 Practical Application

▪ The NOA form can only be completed and submitted to SARS once the NOO
has been submitted to SARS and the outcome of the objection has been
received i.e. where a NOO has been partially allowed or disallowed.

▪ The request for suspension of payment can be requested as a standalone

option on eFiling for Income Tax.

▪ To ensure that the correct process is followed, validations will be applied

against the disputes that are lodged.
 Practical Application

The RFR01, DISP01 or

supporting documents
In the case where the can be submitted via
NOO was partially any of the following
allowed or disallowed channels:
and you wish to submit • eFiling
Multiple transactions For VAT, multiple
a NOA, ensure that the • At a local SARS
and/or source codes periods up to 12 months
appeal is based on the branch
may be disputed on the may be disputed on the
same items being
RFR, NOO or NOA form RFR, NOO or NOA
objected. The same
per period. form.
source code and
amounts used in the
NOO must be
completed on the NOA.
 Use of E Filing for Disputes

▪ The dispute process can be triggered from the following functionalities on

eFiling
▪ Assessment notices (ITA34)
▪ Statement of Account
▪ Dispute landing page
▪ Relevant return work page
▪ SARS can either ALLOW, PARTIALLY ALLOW or DISALLOW the request for
remission, objection or appeal by the taxpayer. The outcome of the objection
or appeal will be communicated to the taxpayer by means of a dispute
outcome letter.
Submission of Request for Remission (RFR)

If there are no items available for Income tax, VAT or PAYE to dispute against,
an error message will be displayed as indicated on the next screen.

13
Submission of Request for Remission (RFR)

If there are items available to dispute, a list of items will be displayed on the
“Selection – Request for Remission” screen.

14
• Note: Only items that are available for dispute will be displayed in the
“Dispute Item List”. The below screen is only an example of how the
dispute item list looks.

15
Select the source code that you want to dispute and enter the
requested amount.

The “Dispute Item List” will display the following information columns:
✓ Select – indicate the items to dispute against by selecting the relevant tick boxes.
✓ Source Code/Transaction Code – the source code / transaction code of the dispute item is
displayed.
✓ Source Code/Field Description – the description of the source/transaction code of the dispute
item is displayed.
✓ Case Number – a case number will be automatically created and displayed if the dispute was
submitted to SARS.
✓ Dispute Type – The dispute type as per the selection is displayed e.g. RFR for Request for
Remission, as indicated on the screen.
✓ Dispute Amount – the amount that has been charged for interest or penalties for late payment are
displayed.
✓ Requested Amount – indicate what you believe the amount should be.

16
Complete the reasons for request for remission of the dispute item(s) in the
“Reason/Grounds” block provided.

Indicate if the reason/grounds should apply across this specific period or all
indicated periods. If the “All periods” option is selected, the reason(s) entered
will be applied to all periods that was selected.
If no reason has been completed and you click the “Next” button, the following
warning message will be displayed to complete a reason. Click “OK” to complete
a reason.

17
Click the “Back” button to be directed to the “Request to File Dispute”
landing page.
Click the “Next” button to continue with the Request for Remission process
and the “Summary” page will be displayed.

18
 Reasons/Grounds for Dispute

19
 Submission Message

Click “Continue” to proceed and the Submitted disputes screen will be displayed.

Click “Open” and the Dispute Work Page will be displayed that will indicate that
the RFR is submitted.

20
 Submission of Notice of Objection (NOO)
On the selection page, the assessment, accounts related and suspension of
payment containers will be indicated separately.

21
Note: Only items that are available for dispute will be displayed in the
“Dispute Item List”. The below screen is only an example of how the
dispute item list looks.

22
If the item that you eish to dispute against is not displayed, click the “Add”
button and the “Add source codes” container will be displayed.

In the “Add source codes” container, the

following fields will be displayed to be
completed:
Source Code
Description – this field will populate with
the description of the source code entered.
Dispute Value – this is the amount that
is reflected in the original assessment
New Value – this is the amount that you
believe should be reflected.

23
Upon selection of the relevant source code, the description field will be populated.
Complete the “Dispute value” and the “New Value”. Click the “Add Source Code”
button and then “Save” and the field will be added onto the Dispute Item list.

24
 Late Submission of NOO
If you wish to submit a reason for late submission in the case of late objection,
complete the reason in the block provided.

25
The Summary page will display the following information that has been
populated from the previous completed steps:

Tax Year – this is the period selected to dispute

against.
Source/Transaction Code – this is the
source/transaction code selected.
Source Code/Field Description – the
description of the source code selected.
Case Number – once the dispute has been
sent to SARS and a case has been created, the
case number will be populated in this field.
Dispute Type – indicates the dispute type that
is being completed.
Dispute Value – the amount that has been
selected for assessed or interest or penalties for
late payment are displayed.
Requested Value – this is the amount that you
believe should be reflected.
Reason/Grounds – this will be populated from
the information captured
Reason for Late Submission – this will be
populated from the information captured

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The supporting documents page will be displayed as indicated below.

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 Summary

The following is important to remember:

▪ Disputes should be done in the correct order and within
the stipulated timeframe
▪ Disputes should be done via e-filing
▪ Remember to have all the relevant supporting documents
in place when submitting a dispute
• Take into account the turn around times to file disputes
and to query disputes
 Corporate Income Tax
28 January 2019 - Administrative Penalties for Corporate Income Tax
(CIT) to be imposed

SARS will be imposing CIT Administrative penalties from 28 January 2019.

Administrative penalties will be imposed on companies that receive a final demand to submit a return.

In terms of Section 210 of the Tax Administration Act of 2011, non-compliance with regards to non-
submission of required CIT returns may be subjected to a penalty, as follows:

If SARS is satisfied that noncompliance by a person referred to in subsection (2) exists, excluding the non-
compliance referred to in section 213,

SARS must impose the appropriate ‘penalty’ in accordance with the Table in section 211.

Non-compliance is failure to comply with an obligation that is imposed by or under a tax Act and is listed in a
public notice issued by the Commissioner, other than:

the failure to pay tax subject to a percentage based penalty under Part C; or

non-compliance subject to an understatement penalty under Chapter 16.

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Thank you

www.sars.gov.za

SARS Contact Centre 0800 00 SARS (7277)

Visit your nearest SARS branch (to locate a branch visit

www.sars.gov.za)

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 08:00 to 16:00;

Wednesday 09:00 to 16:00

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31
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 SARS Tax Practitioner Readiness
Programme
Module 8 – Part 3
Complaints & Escalations Management

Copyright ©
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

▪ Understand the SARS complaint management process
▪ Understand the channels of resolution of complaints
▪ Understand the escalation process when service issues
are unresolved

1
 SARS AT YOUR SERVICE

▪ We want to provide you with a high standard of service

▪ We know how important it is to get things right, so we are always

looking for ways to improve.

▪ As part of our improved service delivery, we have introduced a

mechanism for you to lodge a complaint.

▪ At SARS we certainly would like to know when you’re happy with our
service. So, if you want to pass on a compliment to one of our staff or
even to a group of us, it’s easy please notify us and we’ll make sure it
reaches the right people.

2
 What is a Complaint?

A complaint is a grievance, or any form of dissatisfaction experienced by

a taxpayer, trader or representative in relation to a SARS process which
was not followed properly or service that was not rendered adequately
and not within the prescribed turnaround times as per the Service
Charter.

NB: A complaint does not replace the lodging of an objection/ appeal if

you are unhappy with the:
• Outcome of an assessment
• If you disagree with an administrative penalty
• If you disagree with an understatement penalty

3
 Categories of Complaints?

4
 First Steps in Resolving Service Issues

▪ Engage the supervisor or manager at the point of contact

▪ Schedule an appointment to visit a branch
▪ Visit a mobile tax unit
▪ Call the Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277

5
 Lodging of Complaints
You can lodge a complaint to SARS in the following ways:
1. Through eFiling, fax, post or email
2. Scheduling an appointment to visiting a branch (including Branch Offices, Large
Business Centre and Branch Office Engagement sites)
3. Calling the CMO hotline 0860 12 12 16

Please note that:

The complaint form is not available for download or for printing and posting to you. It is an
online form only available for you to complete on eFiling or it can be completed on your
behalf by a SARS agent when you contact the CMO, Contact Centre, a Branch or a Mobile
Tax Unit.

6
 What to expect after you complained

▪ You will receive an SMS or email notification at various stages of the

process:
▪ When you’ve logged your complaint, you will receive an
acknowledgement notification the same day.
▪ The resolution date will be a maximum of 21 days after the complaint
was logged.

7
 Lodging of Complaints
During your
Quality or speed initial
of service interaction Contact
with SARS do NO SARS to get
you have a a case
Unresolved number
issues
YES case
number?

Missing
documentation
If YES
Behaviour

Lodge a Still unhappy

Experience YES complaint with SARS
with SARS

Legal/ Policy Lodge a complaint with the Tax

Ombud?