The OTO does not only help speed up the resolution of taxpayer complaints and get the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to pay refunds due, however there are also instances where the OTO secures taxpayers thousands of rands in interest thereon. The case in this issue is an example.
October 2023 marked the OTO’s 10th anniversary, and we are taking our stakeholders down memory lane by publishing this birthday issue. It chronicles our history and 10 years of ensuring fairness, and includes successes and challenges. Through illustrations and words, it tells the rich history of how an idea was converted into an important institution […]
On Thursday 19 October 2023, the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) will host a stakeholder engagement presentation by the Office of the Tax Ombud ( OTO) for staff, students and industry partners. The event is scheduled for 11am in the Senate Building. Dean of EMS Professor […]
Many taxpayers are unaware that they have a right to approach the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and request remission of administrative penalties. Although SARS has many options for dealing with such requests, including allowing, partially allowing or disallowing requests, the revenue collector must respond within a reasonable time. The case below, a rare complaint […]
PRETORIA: The Tax Ombud is at the Fourways Mall this week helping taxpayers who have tax complaints against the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Since Tuesday, 22 August 2023, taxpayers have been benefitting from the Tax Ombud’s initiative to take services to the doorsteps of communities. The campaign at Fourways Mall ends on Monday, 28 […]
Welcome to Women’s Month, where we acknowledge and celebrate women’s incredible contributions in the tax sphere. The timing could not be better to welcome our new Tax Ombud, Ms Yanga Mputa. We look forward to her tenure as head of this important institution.
PRETORIA: Making Taxpayers’ Rights Matter, the educational campaign of the Office of the Tax Ombud, is launching today, 1 August 2023, coinciding with the ongoing South African Revenue Service (SARS) Tax Season, launched on 7 July. The OTO campaign encourages and reassures taxpayers of continued and intensified promotion and protection of their rights, and embraces […]
The Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana has in terms of section 14 of the Tax Administration Act, of 2011, appointed Ms Yanga Mputa as the Tax Ombud effective from 1 July 2023. Ms Mputa becomes South Africa’s first female Tax Ombud. The appointment is for a period of 5 years.
As we prepare for the new Tax Season, this edition of Fair Play covers various issues of interest to taxpayers and tax practitioners, especially when they believe they are not receiving fair treatment from the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Delays in the payment of tax refunds continue to affect taxpayers. This is despite theTax Ombud identifying certain root causes of the delays as systemic issues – meaningproblems that are regarded as the underlying cause of a tax complaint that affects orwill affect a number of taxpayers.
The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) continues to receive many complaints about non-payment of refunds and delays in finalising disputes lodged. Not all complaints received within these categories are due to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) not adhering to timeframes, but rather to a lack of awareness among taxpayers about all the applicable […]
The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) is committed to delivering a quality experience by continuously listening to customers to meet their needs. Please help us understand and improve the quality of your experience by completing the survey and sharing your experience(s) with the Office of the Tax Ombud. Your response will remain entirely confidential […]
As this is the last issue of Fair Play for 2022, the editorial team has made sure it is a worthwhile read, with insights on important subjects in the tax recourse sphere, including delays in the payment of tax refunds and a new systemic issue. We also feature a farewell message from former Tax Ombud […]
Delays in the payment of tax refunds are still the most frequent complaints lodgedwith the Office of the Tax Ombud. This is despite the OTO previously compiling ahard-hitting report on the issue, together with recommendations on how the SouthAfrican Revenue Service (SARS) could resolve the matter. Now the OTO has identifiedanother SARS practice that contributes […]
Some taxpayers may be under the impression that the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) onlyassists taxpayers with complaints against the South African Revenue Service (SARS) if there aretax refunds at stake. The case featured in this issue illustrates the OTO’s commitment to helpingresolve all complaints received, even those many taxpayers might consider insignificant.
MEDIA STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE TAX OMBUD FOR RELEASE ON 12 OCTOBER 2022 PRETORIA: OTO celebrates nine years of ensuring fairness by helping hundreds of taxpayers secure their refunds from SARS. This includes R215 million in top 10 tax refunds collectively paid to taxpayers through the intervention of the OTO. This is […]
Media Statement by the Office of the Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana regarding the appointment of the Acting Tax Ombud, following the expiry of the term of office of the first and only Tax Ombud, Honourable Judge Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe.
Nine years have passed in a flash and the Fair Play editorial team is grateful to have been part of the Office of the Tax Ombud’s success over the years. With the support of stakeholders at large, the OTO has positioned itself as a brand that promotes a fair tax administration system, with taxpayers’ rights […]
In July 2022, SARS issued more than three million income tax auto-assessments to individual non-provisional taxpayers. It is crucial to understand that the process for dealing with auto-assessments is slightly different from when an income tax return is submitted manually. If the wrong procedure is followed, it could have serious consequences for taxpayers.
Comments delivered by Tax Ombud, Judge Bernard M. Ngoepe at the SAIGA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2022. The theme of your conference is; “Step up to the mark and put citizens first”. Within the context of the above theme, the question I am asked to address specifically is: “How can South Africa overcome its obstacles”. Both the […]
When a tax complaint deals with more than one issue, it may lead to confusion at the South African Revenue Service (SARS), as the case below shows.
The Office of the Tax Ombud is pleased to share the 17th issue of its monthly case study newsletter Fairness for All. The newsletter seeks to educate taxpayers about the types of taxpayer complaints lodged with the OTO and how these are resolved. In the current issue, we showcase one of the challenges taxpayers experience […]
In 2017 the OTO issued a report after finalising a systemic investigation into what caused delays in SARS paying refunds to taxpayers. One of the issues identified was that SARS delays the revision of assessments after disputes have been finalised. The primary issue noted by the Tax Ombud was that there is no prescribed timeframe […]
The theme of the current edition is “Balancing taxpayers’ rights and obligations”, and the articles and insights featured in this issue seek to do precisely that by providing informative material on the topic.
The OTO has discovered a previously unidentified issue relating to SARS repeatedly conducting verifications that could be contributing to delays in the revenue authority finalising assessments. This issue was found during an analysis the OTO has been conducting to determine possible root causes of certain delays in paying out refunds, specifically in cases where SARS […]
On 7 April 2022, Tax Ombud Judge Bernard Ngoepe published the Compilation of Taxpayers’ Rights, Entitlements and Obligations. He expressed gratitude to all stakeholders who heeded calls for public comments on the draft Compilation released two months ago.
The Tax Ombud, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, is pleased to share South Africa’s first-ever Compilation of Taxpayers’ Rights, Entitlements and Obligations. The document was compiled by the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) with inputs from numerous stakeholders in and outside the tax sphere. Thank you for your contribution and support over the years, and we […]
Before releasing tax refunds, SARS is by law allowed to conduct verifications when it identifiesrisks, but it is not common to do so multiple times for the same tax year and request the samedocuments.
The theme of this edition is “Embracing taxpayer rights and obligations”, underlining the ongoing efforts of the Office of the Tax Ombud to ensure fairness when taxpayers deal with SARS.
The case below details how the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) assisted a taxpayer with a complaint where the South African Revenue Service (SARS) had failed to pay out the diesel refund in respect of the 04/2021 value added tax (VAT) period.
On 1 February 2022, the Tax Ombud, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, released a draft of South Africa’s first Compendium of Taxpayer Rights, Entitlements and Obligations, which informs taxpayers about their rights, entitlements and obligations concerning their tax affairs and engagements with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO). The […]
In the case below, both the taxpayer and SARS failed to follow the correct procedures, resulting in a cycle of invalidations of the taxpayer’s objection.
This The celebration of the OTO’s 8th anniversary is an exciting milestone. During this period, the Office has taken great strides to make a difference to the lives of taxpayers through its free and fair intervention when taxpayers have complaints about SARS.
The case below describes how SARS delayed payment of a refund to a taxpayer, even after it had allowed an objection to the assessment raised, by repeatedly paying the refund and then recalling it immediately from the taxpayer’s bank account.
The Office of the Tax Ombud’s (OTO) eighth anniversary celebration today, 1 October, coincides with the launch of its 2021 educational campaign to intensify awareness about taxpayer rights and promote tax compliance during the current tax season of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Welcome to the 21st issue of our newsletter, themed The Right to Know About Your Tax Matters. This issue comes at a crucial time, during the SARS tax season, when many individuals and businesses file tax returns.
We are in the middle of the tax season, with taxpayers filing their tax returns and some experiencing challenges with the revenue collector. One of these challenges involves SARS taking money from taxpayers’ bank accounts through a process called Third Party Appointment (TPA). In many instances, this process is done correctly, but there are also […]
The Tax Season is upon us, and as per tradition, the OTO expects an influx of complaints from taxpayers. Some of the issues might seem small but have serious financial implications for taxpayers. The case below involves SARS delaying finalising the verification of a VAT period which subsequently led to a delay in the verification […]
The Office of the Tax Ombud is committed to helping improve the country’s tax administration system by, among others, protecting taxpayers’ rights. But there are instances where the actions of tax complainants are questionable, and the Tax Ombud would rule in favour of the South African Revenue Service or reject a tax complaint outright. Remember, […]
In this issue we feature a critical intervention by the Office of the Tax Ombud that earned the Office a testimonial from a taxpayer. The intervention led to SARS paying the taxpayer R86 573.64 in VAT refunds, inclusive of interest. The OTO reiterates that while it will do everything possible to protect taxpayers’ rights, it […]
In this issue we discuss a critical intervention by the Office of the Tax Ombud that led to SARS refunding close to R196 000.00 to a taxpayer after the money was unfairly taken from its bank accounts. The Tax Ombud Judge Bernard Ngoepe always reiterates the importance of tax compliance and the rights of taxpayers […]