Sars acting commissioner confirms over 5 million returns by deadline

2 November 2018 8:59 AM

The deadline for submitting individual tax returns via e-filing was midnight 31 October and the revenue service has confirmed that 5.785 million returns made the deadline.

The Wednesday deadline applies to non-provisional taxpayers and those provisional taxpayers who opt to file at a branch.

Acting Commissioner at SA Revenue Services, Mark Kingon says they is a two percent increase on the use of e-filing and just under R18 billion in refunds have been paid.

The returns comprise the following:

• 4. 229 million returns by individual taxpayers (returns relevant to the current year)
• 1. 459 million returns by individual taxpayers filed during this Tax Season but relevant to prior years)
• 42 087 returns filed by trusts (returns relevant to the current year)
• 53 973 returns filed by trusts (returns filed during this Tax Season but relevant to prior years)

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What's been fascinating for me is to see the amount of people in our branches and that we have managed to condense the filing season because it used to go through to the second last week of November but we brought it forward to the end of October.
— Mark Kingon, Acting Sars commissioner

We managed to get all the people in and our branches were quiet yesterday.
— Mark Kingon, Acting Sars commissioner

We want to be giving a better service because in so doing we believe we are going improve the image of our organisation.
— Mark Kingon, Acting Sars commissioner

To hear the rest of the conversation with Mark Kingon, listen below:

Written by: Lengwadishang Ramphele