Taxpayers now can take a little time to lodge an objection with SARS – three and a half months from the date of assessment or decision. This was recently approved and comes into immediate effect under section 103 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011. This now gives you up to 80 days to lodge your objection as opposed to 30 business days under the old rules.
Time to consider
While taxpayers now have more time to raise their concerns, and formulate their objections, it’s important to not delay in dealing with a SARS dispute. The new rules are coming in with transitional measures as follows:
- If the assessment or decision was issued or made before 10 March 2023 and 30 business days from that date expired before 10 March 2023, then the taxpayer is trapped by the old rules and must request for condonation under Rule 68 (1) and (3) of the new rules.
- If the assessment or decision was issued or made before 10 March 2023 and 30 business days from that date expire after 10 March 2023, then the taxpayer has an additional 50 business days to lodge the objection without having to request for condonation.
- If an assessment or decision was issued or made after 10 March 2023, the taxpayer has 80 business days from the date of the assessment or decision to lodge an objection.
Time to object
If you are aggrieved by an assessment or decision issued by SARS, you have the right to object to such an assessment or decision. You do not have the right to object to a self-assessment (like Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), where no assessment has been raised by SARS.
You can also object to the imposition of certain other administrative non-compliance penalties or interest where your request for remission of such penalty/interest was not allowed or partially allowed.
Time to appeal
If you disagree with the outcome of your objection you have the right to appeal against that decision to the tax board or tax court.
You must lodge the appeal within 30 business days after delivery of the outcome of the objection. A senior SARS official may extend this period –
- By 21 business days if satisfied that reasonable grounds exist for the delay or
- By up to 45 business days if satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist for the delay.
Time for expert assistance
For expert assistance with your tax return and dealing with any objections or appeals, speak to our tax specialists today.