The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on Wednesday rejected media reports alleging the eFiling system is on the verge of collapse.
This followed testimony by SARS executives at the Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance earlier in the day.
“The perception created that the eFiling system is on the verge of collapse is incorrect, and unfortunately has the effect of creating unnecessary alarm and uncertainty. SARS would like to assure taxpayers that the SARS eFiling system is stable and performing well within specification, as evidenced by the system’s uptime (i.e. availability) at a rate of 99.7%.”
The revenue service, which is about to wrap up the 2018 tax season, stated that already 3.3 million tax returns have been filed with 50.4% of these via eFiling.
The platform has handled an average traffic volume of 25 000 tax returns daily.
SARS clarified concerns expressed by its executives testifying at the SARS Commission of Inquiry, centring on the compatibility of eFiling and web browsers toward the year 2020 timeframe.
“This concern is associated to a future risk and not a reflection on the current capacity, functionality or stability of SARS’ systems.”
The revenue service encouraged taxpayers to continue using the eFiling channel at http://www.sarsefiling.co.za/ and submit returns before the 31 October 2018 deadline. – SAnews.gov.za
