The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has added to its technology portfolio with the aim of returning assessments in under three minutes, as increasing numbers of South Africans move online.
The taxman yesterday unveiled five new technologies as it ushered in the 2012 tax season. This is the first time such technology has been implemented in a service environment in this country - either by government or the private sector, according to finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
Last year, a record 4.86 million people and trusts submitted returns on time, of which 99% were filed electronically, either with assistance at a SARS branch or by taxpayers or their intermediaries through eFiling. By 11pm Sunday night, 18 031 taxpayers had already filed returns via eFiling.
First of a kind
Gordhan said at yesterday's unveiling that SARS expects more than five million tax payers to file returns within the next five months. In the previous tax year, South African taxpayers contributed R251.6 billion through personal income tax, making up 33.8% of all revenue collection, added SARS commissioner Oupa Magashula.
Five new service offerings will be available to taxpayers: quicker assessments within minutes of submission; a new eFiling application for smartphones; filing a tax return through cellphones; real-time call centre assistance to help with filing (Help-You-eFile); and training videos on how to eFile available on YouTube.
The eFiling App, mobi site and Help-You-eFile service are in final testing and will be made available during the course of this tax season.
Gordhan said the increased use of technology enabled SARS to process 98% of all returns within 24 hours. The taxman paid R11.9 billion in refunds to taxpayers, 85% of which was paid in three days.
Internet explosion
Magashula explained that SARS is introducing cellphone and smartphone filing on the back of the explosion of smartphones, tablets and iPads over the past few years. He said there are currently 8.5 million Internet users in SA, which is expected to grow to 10 million this year, while smartphone users will reach 11 million from 8.5 million.
“So we've built an eFiling App for tablets, iPads and smartphones and have developed a mobi site for cellphone users.” SARS has re-skinned and redesigned its eFiling site to conform to a smartphone or cellphone, cutting the income tax return into smaller pieces, said Magashula.
SARS has also introduced a Help-You-eFile system that gives taxpayers access to a call centre agent, while lodging a return online, said Magashula. The agents can see what is being filed, but not confidential details such as bank account numbers, in real-time.
Magashula says taxpayers willing to pilot these new services can contact SARS to participate in final testing over the next few weeks. “Their experience and feedback will determine when we make these available to the wider taxpayer community.”
Lightning fast
Magashula said SARS' technology innovations over the past few years have “included one of the most rapid up-takes in electronic filing anywhere in the world... from a fully manual process, which took an average of three months to receive an assessment in 2006, to over 99% submitted electronically via eFiling or a SARS branch last year”.
Five years ago, said Magashula, taxpayers expected to receive their assessment in three months, which improved to three weeks, then three days, and - last year - 24 hours. “Now we aim to give taxpayers their assessments in under three minutes... and in many cases just seconds after submission.”
The average time for assessments to be delivered to taxpayers who filed on Sunday through eFiling was under 10 seconds, said Magashula. Refunds are paid the next day, said the commissioner. “It is no longer good enough to assess a return in 24 hours... that's expected.”
People who file through eFiling have until 23 November to lodge returns, while manual returns must be in by 28 September. Provisional taxpayers who use eFiling have until the end of next January to submit.
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