On 15 August 2024, the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) announced that it sought and obtained approval from the Minister of Finance to conduct a review of possible systemic and emerging issues related to alleged SARS’s service failures in assisting taxpayers with e-filling profile hijacking timeously in terms of section 16(1)(b) of the Tax Administration Act, 28 of 2011. This followed complaints and queries received by the OTO from taxpayers and industry bodies, as well as the public workshop with SARS, taxpayers and industry bodies on 13 June 2024.

The OTO is appealing to taxpayers and taxpayer representatives to participate in the survey on their experiences and challenges regarding eFiling profile hijacking. The objective of the survey is to collect information that will assist the OTO in its investigation and compilation of the report thereon.

To access the survey, please click on this link: bit.ly/efiling-survey. If you prefer to complete the survey manually, please download the form by clicking here. After you have completed the form, please email it to:  [email protected]. The survey is also accessible on the OTO website at www.taxombud.gov.za.

Deadline for responding to the survey: The survey will be open until the close of business on 5 March 2025.