South African Revenue Service Service Charter

Service Charter

South African Revenue Service Service Charter

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South African Revenue Service

Your Rights Obligations and Service timelines

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Service Charter

WHAT WE DO IN SOUTH AFRICA We, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), as the nation’s tax collecting authority, established in terms of the South African Revenue Service Act 34 of 1997 as an autonomous agency, are responsible for administering the South African tax system and customs service: Aspire to contribute directly to the economic and social development of the country by collection of all revenue due to the state Encourage tax, customs and excise compliance Foster a culture of fiscal citizenship in South Africa, underscored by a law abiding society Seized with the constant improvement and enhancement of service to taxpayers and traders to ensure that we are ‘more accessible’ Commit to providing a service that is fair, accurate and which is based on mutual trust and respect. The SARS Service Charter will endeavour to adhere to the stipulated timelines; however, there may be times when, due to seasonal volumes, the timelines will be adjusted.

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Your Rights and Obligations To help you through • Courteous and professional service at all times • Providing clear, accurate and helpful responses • Making clear what action you need to take and by when • Being accessible via the SARS contact centre and walk-in centres • Publishing self-explanatory leaflets and booklets on the SARS website www.sars.gov.za To be fair by • Expecting you to pay only what is due under law • Treating everyone equally where your intention is to be compliant • Ensuring everyone pays their fair share • Informing you if and when the prescribed time frames cannot be kept To respect your constitutional rights and privacy by • Keeping your private affairs strictly confidential • Furnishing you with reasons for decisions taken • Applying the law consistently and impartially If you are not satisfied, you may • Exercise your right to request reasons • Exercise your right to dispute an assessment or decision • Lodge a formal complaint via eFiling, at a SARS branch or via the SARS Contact Centre • If you have exhausted all processes in SARS to lodge a complaint with the Tax Ombud In return, your obligations are to • Be honest • Submit full and accurate information on time • Pay your tax and/or duties on time and in full • Encourage others to pay their tax and/or duties • Not encourage or be party to bribery or fraud in any form • Report any bribery or fraud

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Service Charter

Aimed for service timelines you can expect If you call our SARS Contact Centre we will endeavour to:

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Answer your call within 4 minutes during our peak season (July to November) Answer your call within 1 minute during our off peak season Where additional specialist support is required, call you within 2 business days

Engagement

If you visit a SARS Branch we will • endeavour to:

Serve you within 180 minutes during our peak season (July to November) • Serve you within 60 minutes during our off peak season Where additional specialist support is required, contact you within 5 business days

When using the eFiling channel • we will endeavour to: •

Make SARS eFiling available 24 hours a day Afford businesses paying VAT, until the last business day of the month to pay, (manual filers must pay by the 25th of each month) • Communicate with you via SMS and email to remind you of submission deadlines Process your requests quicker than if you had visited a SARS Branch

If you correspond with SARS we • will:

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Respond to a tax, customs or excise query within 21 business days of receipt

When you apply for registration and where all registration requirements have been met:

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When you submit a return or declaration electronically to SARS we will:

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If you are subject to an inspection, verification or audit, we will:

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Inspection, Audit & Verification

Retuns/ Declarations

Registration


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Where no inspection is required we will process and finalise the application within 2 business days Where an inspection is required we will process and finalise the application within 21 business days Assess the return within 5 business days Finalise all Customs declarations within 4 hours of receipt

Notify you that your return or declaration is subject to an inspection, verification or audit within 15 business days of submission Conclude the verification within 21 business days from the date all required supporting documents are received Conclude the audit within 90 business days from the date all required supporting documents are received

Payments

Refunds

Service Charter If a refund is due to you and where all obligations have been met and SARS administrative control processes adhered to, and no inspection, verification or audit is required or has been concluded, we will:

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When you make a payment, and SARS has the correct payment reference number (PRN), we will:

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Process the payment within 3 business days of receipt

Where Customs and Excise refund payments are paid into a deferment account, we will:

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Make refund payments into the deferment account, provided that the original payment was also made into the deferment account

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Pay refunds within 7 business days of finalisation of your assessment Pay customs and excise refunds within 30 business days of finalisation of the application

Debt

All other Customs and Excise refund payments are paid into the FICA approved account that the client has registered with SARS When you apply for payment arrangements or suspension of payment, and all the requirements have been met, we will:

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Consider the request within 21 business days of receipt of the complete application

When you request a debt compromise, and all the requirements have been met, we will:

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Consider the request within 30 business days of receipt of the complete application

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South African Revenue Service You have the right to disagree with SARS and to lodge an objection and appeal within the prescribed timelines against an assessment or certain decisions

Disputes in terms of the Tax Administration Act

Where SARS receives a request • for reasons, an objection, or an appeal, unless otherwise agreed, we will: • •

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You have the right to disagree with SARS and to lodge an objection and appeal within the prescribed timelines against an assessment or certain decisions Where SARS needs to provide a Determination of Tariff/ Valuation/Origin, we will:

Complaints

Provide reasons for an assessment within 21 business days Consider the objection within 60 business days Consider if a matter is suitable for Alternative Dispute Resolution within 30 business days Consider the appeal within 90 business days Finalise ADR proceedings within 90 business days of a decision agreement or settlement, issue an assessment to give effect there to

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Finalise within 90 days of receipt of all required information/documentation (excluding cases of escalation or exception cases, i.e. World Customs Organisation or legal referrals)

If you are not satisfied with the service you received from SARS or the way you have been dealt with, it is your right to lodge a complaint The complaint can be lodged via SARS eFiling, at a SARS Branch or via the SARS Contact Centre. Service complaints can also be lodged with the SARS Complaints Office at 0860 12 12 16 Where a service complaint has • been lodged:

SARS will respond within 21 business days

If you have exhausted all processes in SARS or have compelling circumstances you can lodge a complaint with the Tax Ombud

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Service Charter

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Service Charter

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South African Revenue Service - Service Charter 12