SARS Timelines

SARS operates within specific timelines to comply with the rules outlined in the Tax Administration Act and the commitments detailed in their service charter.

However, these timelines are not easily accessible on the SARS website, leaving many of our users needing to contact the helpdesk for updates on their submissions.

To assist you, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of these timelines:

Auto-Assessment

SARS issues the bulk of auto-assessments at the beginning of tax season. If you were auto-assessed, you have until the end of the individual tax season to file a correction and add any income or deductions that don't appear on the auto-assessment. To check if you were auto-assessed, please review your SMS history, email history, log onto your eFiling profile or click here

Request an Extension

If you missed the auto-assessment deadline and still want to file a tax return, you can request an extension. The button is available on your income tax work page on eFiling. According to SARS, the extension button should be available on your profile for three years after the tax season closed, but you need to aim to lodge the request for an extension within 21 business days from the date tax season ended. If you miss the 21 business days, SARS says that they will only consider your request for an extension in exceptional circumstances.

Request for Reason

You can file a request for reason if you see any income or deductions that’s been removed or erroneously added by SARS. This button is available on your income tax work page on eFiling too. However, you only have 30 business days from the date of the assessment to submit the request and SARS then has an additional 30 business days to get back to you with a reply.

Request for Reduced Assessment

A request for a reduced assessment is a one-page form you can send to SARS if they or you or your employer sent SARS incorrect data. You have 3 years from the date of your original assessment to submit the request for a reduced assessment.

Dispute Resolution

If the request for a reduced assessment was unsuccessful, you will need to file a dispute. You have 80 business days from the date of your original or revised assessment to lodge the dispute and SARS then has 60 business days to get back to you with a reply. You can follow these steps to submit the dispute: How to file a dispute with SARS.

Notice of Appeal

Should your dispute be unsuccessful, you can file an appeal. A taxpayer must deliver a notice of appeal within 30 business days after SARS delivered the notice of disallowance or partial allowance of the objection. SARS will then take 90 business days to get back to you.

Request for Suspension of Payment

When you file the dispute, you should see an option to request a suspension of payment too. This request is just to notify the SARS collections office of your intention to dispute the balance and that they should wait on the outcome of the dispute before they start their collection process. SARS has 30 business days to get back to you on this request and once your dispute is resolved, the suspension of payment will automatically be cancelled by the SARS system. For more details, please click here.

Request for Remission of Administrative Penalties

Since tax season for non-provisional taxpayers has passed, many late-filers may have received a notification of an administrative penalty being issued. This can range from R250 up to R16 000 depending on which tax bracket you fall in. If you have a valid reason (e.g illness, difficulty obtaining supporting documentation, death in the family, or due to traveling for work purposes) you can dispute the penalties by submitting a request for remission.  Click here for steps to submit this request. SARS has 30 business days to get back to you with a reply.

Complaints

If SARS takes longer than they should to get back to you, you can file a complaint. They usually reply in a few days, but it can take up to 21 business days to receive a reply from their Service Monitoring Office. Click here for steps to file a complaint.