South African Revenue Service faces scrutiny over aggressive tactics and filing deadlines

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is facing growing criticism regarding aggressive collection tactics. Experts suggest these pressures stem from National Treasury’s requirement for increased revenue to service rising national debt and government expenditure.

Taxpayers facing disputes have several avenues for recourse, including the Office of the Tax Ombud and SARS’s internal complaints processes. Professionals note that while taxpayers can challenge assessments, they must do so through structured, informed methods, such as threatening a default judgment court application if SARS fails to respond to a valid objection within 15 days.

Separately, the tax filing deadline for most non-provisional taxpayers in South Africa is 23 October 2026. While many were auto-assessed, individuals must manually file if their auto-assessment is incorrect, incomplete, or if they did not receive one. Failure to correct an incorrect auto-assessment by the deadline means it becomes the final assessment, requiring a formal objection process to change later.