Waiting for Sars to answer? Taxman apologises for hours-long call centre delays

Tax season can be a headache for many taxpayers in South Africa as they try to navigate through filing their returns on time. Some of the taxpayers have already aired their complaints over having to wait for long periods to get assisted via the call centre or online.

South Africa’s tax season began on 1 July and ends on 21 October 2024 for non-provisional taxpayers. It will end on 20 January 2025 for provisional taxpayers while the tax season for trusts starts on 16 September 2024 and runs till 20 January 2025 

How long does it take to get assistance?

The Citizen ran a test call on how long it would take to be assisted by a South African Revenue Service (Sars) agent on the phone and online. While no time frame was given on the call on how long it would take to get assistance, its online system said an agent would assist in approximately 15 minutes. We waited three hours for a callback and an agent only connected online after two hours.

On the day of the test, there were over 1,000 people also waiting for assistance over the phone.

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When to expect delays during tax season

Speaking to The Citizen, Sars head of media Siphithi Sibeko apologised for the long wait that is being experienced by taxpayers during the season.

He said delays experienced at call centres usually happen during the beginning and the end of the tax season, as taxpayers either rush to get their filing done early or leave it for the last minute.

He said in addition to people calling Sars during the season are those who are not required to file a return, but still calling for enquiries.

“SARS appreciates such willingness to comply by taxpayers but urges them to use the modern digital channels which offer the possibility of filing returns, and conducting other interactions, from home or from work, 24/7,” said Sibeko.

Sibeko said taxpayers are welcome to use Sars’ online channels such as eFiling, the Sars MobiApp, and the Sars Online Query System (SOQS) on the Sars website.

Taxpayers can use these channels for e-filing returns, making payments to Sars, finding a tax number, resetting passwords and usernames, checking if you will be auto-assessed, and obtaining a tax compliance status pin, amongst others.

“Taxpayers who have been auto-assessed and do not agree with the outcome must file a return with new information via the usual channels by the Filing Season deadline,” Sibeko said.

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