Share

SARS collects revenue of over R1.14trn

Pretoria -  The South African Revenue Service (SARS) collected R1.144trn for the 2016/17 financial year, according to SARS commissioner Tom Moyane. 

Moyane was speaking at the preliminary revenue collection results announcement on Monday.

Last year SARS had collected over R1trn (R 1.0699trn) in revenue, a first for the tax authority. This surpassed Treasury’s target of R1.0697trn for the period. SARS attributed this to its operating model.

New Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba was also at the briefing. He explained that the projected revenues had been revised down from R1.175trn to R1.14 trn, due to the poorly performing economy, which grew at 0.3%. 

Moyane echoed these views, saying that revenue realisation was impacted by declining consumption levels, constrained further by the interest hike cycle and declining business confidence. 

The downward revision by R30bn was due to customs duties being down R6.5bn, because of the contraction in imports. VAT had been dragged down by Import VAT collections by R11.3bn. Personal income tax underperformed by R15.2bn, with growth declining to 9%, down from 12%.

READ: SARS unpaid VAT bill now at R19.6bn

The tax authority has come under fire for delaying a total of R19.6bn of VAT refunds to vendors as at the end of February 2017. This is according to former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, who answered a question in Parliament about the outstanding VAT refunds.

Gordhan explained that the total value of VAT refunds claimed between March 2016 and February 2017 was R129bn, of which R19.6bn was not refunded by February 28 2017. The total value of VAT refunds still being audited as at February 28 2017 was R17.3bn.

ALSO READ: Tax Ombud gets nod to investigate SARS

Subsequently, the tax ombudsman received Treasury's nod to investigate systems at SARS. Judge Bernard Ngoepe told Fin24 that the process should be completed within the next two months. The tax ombud had contacted SARS and engaged with other stakeholders and tax practitioners.

The decision to launch a probe came about given the level of complaints received regarding the refunds. Ngoepe explained that the issue is not one related to governance, but rather the mechanisms applied.

“My duty is to ensure fairness between taxpayers on one side and SARS on the other side. Which is why I have to be objective in my duties,” he said.

SARS in turn issued a statement saying that it would cooperate with the tax ombudsman’s investigation.

READ: We're not holding back VAT refunds – SARS

At a briefing in Parliament last week, acting chief officer Firdous Sallie answered questions about the tax authority’s revenue collection figures, the issue of outstanding VAT refunds and its tax collection systems.

She explained that submissions to SARS go through a rigid process. “On the one hand we have to ensure refunds are paid out timeously, but on the other hand we must make sure it stands up to the test of not being a fraudulent VAT claim,” she said.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.92
+0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.88
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.1%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent-ruolie
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders