The South African Revenue Service (SARS) yesterday launched its Help-You-eFile, which aims to help taxpayers file returns online.
From yesterday, taxpayers who are unsure how to use eFiling, or who get stuck while completing their returns online, can make use of the Help-You-eFile service. The facility allows them to be in direct contact with a SARS call centre agent while they complete their tax return online.
The initiative is part of five new technologies SARS unveiled in July as it ushered in the 2012 tax season. So far, SARS has received 2.3 million tax returns since the tax season started at the beginning of July.
By the same time last year, 1.5 million returns had been filed. The unintended consequence has been that queues at branches have been much longer than during previous years, as branches are seeing 55% more taxpayers than the same period last year.
Last year, a record 4.86 million people and trusts submitted returns on time, of which 99% were filed electronically, either with assistance at a SARS branch or by taxpayers or their intermediaries through eFiling.
Cutting queues
SARS hopes the new facility to help taxpayers with eFiling will alleviate some of the pressure on branch offices.
With permission from the taxpayer, the facility enables the agent to access the taxpayer's eFiling browsing session at the same time as the taxpayer, and see exactly what the taxpayer is seeing.
SARS says: “This is the first time any revenue service around the world has instituted such a system and SARS is proud to be at the forefront of such technological advancements.”
The revenue service expects more than five million taxpayers to file returns by the final November deadline.
The call centre agents will guide taxpayers through the eFiling steps and talk them through the filing process to address any difficulties experienced in completing their return. Sensitive security fields such as the taxpayer's banking details, password and login are not visible to the agent.
Agents also have view-only access and cannot enter any information on the return, but can direct the taxpayer on where to enter information by highlighting fields on the return.
In July, SARS said five new service offerings would become available to taxpayers this year: quicker assessments within minutes of submission, a new eFiling application for smartphones, filing a tax return through cellphones, real-time call centre assistance to help with filing (Help-You-eFile), and training videos on how to eFile available on YouTube.
The eFiling App and mobi site will be made available during the course of this tax season.
Finance minister Pravin Gordhan said in July that the increased use of technology enabled SARS to process 98% of all returns within 24 hours. The taxman paid R11.9 billion in refunds to taxpayers last year, 85% of which was paid in three days.
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