Fairness for all: Case 22

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 […]

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Fairness for all: Case 21

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 […]

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Fairness for all: Case 20

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.

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Fairness for all: Case 19

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.

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Fairness for all: Case 17

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 […]

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Fairness for all: Case 16

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 […]

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Fairness for all: Case 15

Taxpayers regularly experience challenges with IRP5 certificates, either with incorrect information reflecting on the certificates or not receiving the IRP5 certificates from their previous employers. It is important to note that the above issues should be directed to employers and not the South African Revenue Services (SARS). However, the case below, which can be taken […]

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Fairness for All: Case 14

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 […]

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Fairness for All: Case 13

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.

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