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 […]
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.
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 […]
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.
The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) does not often receive cases involving Turnover Tax Return (TT03) complaints against the South African Revenue Service (SARS) but ensures that when it does, such matters are efficiently dealt with. The case below, which helped secure a tax refund of over R24 000, illustrates the OTO’s commitment to […]
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.
Ten years has a special ring to it, and for the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO), it represents commitment and achievement. We are excited to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the OTO, which by now has a substantial track record in serving as a free, fair recourse mechanism for South Africa’s 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 […]