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The South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced that it has extended the non-provisional individual taxpayers’ filing season from 23 November to 2 December 2021.
In a statement on Tuesday, 23 November 2021, the revenue collector said that the week-long delay aimed to facilitate taxpayers whose tax-filing was impacted by numerous issues beyond their control.
“SARS is acutely aware of systemic issues the organisation has experienced, as well as the impact of load shedding on taxpayers, which made it difficult for taxpayers to file their returns.” As a result, SARS said the date for levying penalties on taxpayers, who had not filed their returns, would be extended and implemented in January 2022.
Furthermore, in the statement, SARS asked taxpayers to use its convenient digital channels, such as eFiling, SARS MobiApp, and the SMS service – 47277.
“By sending an SMS to this number, taxpayers can book an appointment at a SARS branch, check if they need to file a return and other services. The SARS website has also been upgraded to allow for more digital services to taxpayers. For more information on these services, visit www.sars.gov.za,” it said.
SARS said it “remains committed to making it simple and easy for taxpayers to meet their legal obligations and hopes that the extension of the filing season deadline will encourage greater compliance among taxpayers”.
Despite the deadline extension, SARS said there had to date been an “overwhelming response” from taxpayers who submitted their income tax returns from 1 July this year.
SARS congratulated these taxpayers for responding to the agency’s strategic goal of encouraging voluntary compliance.
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