South African Revenue Service (Sars) says it is optimistic that it will meet the revised tax collection targets.
Friday was the deadline for non-provisional taxpayers to submit their tax returns. There has been a last-minute rush to meet the deadline for submitting tax returns for those who earn a single income.
Just on Friday alone about 55 000 people filed their tax returns. Over 5 million taxpayers have already submitted their tax returns 2017.
Sars says it is likely to meet the revised revenue targets of just over R 1. 2 trillion set for the financial year ending 31 March 2018.
It has already issued refunds of about R23 billion in 2017.
“In the last three years that I have been here, we have met the targets. So, we see no reason why we should not be in a position to do so, especially when we see a number of taxpayers are doing what they are duty-bound to do,” says Sars Commissioner Tom Moyane.
In a recently released report, the tax ombudsman noted that Sars was failing to deal with dispute resolutions and that there were delays in the issuing of refunds.
Sars says it is putting measures in place to deal with these issues.
“We did receive a report from the tax ombudsman as an oversight body. It gives us a sense of what needs to be strengthened and the weaknesses that have been identified and we are looking at how best we can deal with the problems,” says Moyane.
Sars has warned that taxpayers who do not submit their tax returns will incur penalties ranging from R 250 to R16 000 including interest. However, the tax ombudsman has highlighted that Sars must adhere to legal procedure before dipping into taxpayers accounts.
