SARS eggs on employers on PAYE

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 13 Aug 2008

Time is running out for businesses to file their payroll registers so that employees can file their tax returns, says the SA Revenue Service (SARS).

To date, only 42 400 of the country's about 250 000 employers have submitted an EMP 501 reconciliation declaration to SARS.

The EMP 501 document is a reconciliation of taxes deducted from employee salaries (PAYE), payments made to SARS on behalf of employees and tax certificate information.

SARS has also received 2.5 million IRP5/IT3(a) employee tax certificates.

"Employers have until 29 August to submit the information to SARS after which strong penalties may be imposed," warns spokesman Adrian Lackay.

He adds that SARS has made available software to assist employers. e@syFile is available free on a CD at all SARS offices and on the Internet at www.sarsefiling.co.za, in both a Microsoft and Mac format. The software program is complemented by a free training video, which provides a step-by-step guide in seven chapters on how to apply the software.

Lackay says 50 000 CDs have so far been distributed, in addition to an unspecified number of downloads from the Web. SARS has also conducted more than 1 500 seminars across the country, attended by more than 103 000 employers. The taxman has also assisted more than 6 000 employers with payroll reconciliations.

The SARS spokesman and his boss, SARS commissioner Pravin Gordhan, say tardy employers will make it difficult for their workers to submit completed income tax returns when the filing period for individuals opens on 1 September.

"Employers are reminded that employees cannot begin filing until a reconciled declaration has been received from the employer," says Gordhan.