THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) has 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 last week.

“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 per cent.”

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 per cent of these via eFiling.

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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 eFiling system continues to be SARS’ premier preferred filing channel and has been capacitated to process high transaction volumes.”

Meanwhile, SARS has also extended its operating hours to Saturday mornings to assist taxpayers in filing their personal income tax returns.

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