Following the tabling of the Office of the Tax Ombud (“OTO”) 2023/24 Annual Report by the Minister of Finance in Parliament on 18 September 2024, today, on 6 November 2024, – the OTO launched its 2023/24 Annual Report in collaboration with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“SACCI”). In demonstrating its commitment […]
Annual Report 2023/24
Fair Play 34 – Pay now, argue later
Office of the Tax Ombud launches its annual awareness campaign themed “Be A Smart Taxpayer”
The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) today, 1 October 2024, launches its annual awareness campaign themed “Be A Smart Taxpayer”. The campaign aims to empower taxpayers to be smart, promote taxpayer rights and embrace tax compliance. It also serves to maximise awareness about the OTO brand and encourage taxpayers to utilise the free services […]
Tax Ombud to investigate complaints against SARS relating to service failure in assisting taxpayers affected by eFiling profile hijacking
The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) confirms that it has 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 eFiling profile hijacking timeously in terms of section 16(1)(b) of the Tax Administration Act 28 […]
Fair Play 33
Annual Performance Plan 2024/25
Fairness for all: Case 28
The South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) action of incorrectly invalidating objections is one of the issues raised and addressed in the Tax Ombud’s Systemic Investigation Report (2020), which concluded that there was a 31% error rate where objections were incorrectly invalidated for various reasons. The case below illustrates another instance of SARS incorrectly invalidating an objection.
Fairness for all: Case 26
Deregistering as a VAT vendor can be challenging, as the case below illustrates, where the South African Revenue Service (SARS) delayed deregistering a taxpayer’s VAT profile for over a year.
We are ready and able to make a difference
Having stood the test of time as a capable organisation with a proven track record in helping to resolve taxpayers’ complaints against the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Established on 1 October 2013, the OTO has been credited with improving the country’s tax […]