SARS hopes Help-You-eFile will cut queues of taxpayers

Statistics indicate that branches are seeing 55% more taxpayers than at the same period last year. As a result of the pressure on SARS branches, queuing times are averaging between 60 and 90 minutes.

However, once taxpayers are with a SARS official it takes only 10 to 12 minutes to capture tax returns.

SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay said yesterday that since the 2012 tax season began in July, SARS had received 2.3-million tax returns.

The average rate of submission each day since July 1 was more than 40 300 returns.

SARS has introduced a new initiative to help taxpayers unfamiliar with the electronic filing system file their annual tax returns.

The system, Help-You-eFile, went live on Monday and put taxpayers in direct contact with a SARS agent while they complete tax returns online. The new service was announced at the start of the filing season.

SARS commissioner Oupa Magashula said at the time that research had indicated that taxpayers who visited SARS branches had access to the internet and could file electronically. However, they did not know how to use eFiling and did not feel completely at ease to do it on their own.

Sharing the same information

The Help-You-eFile service would allow a contact centre agent to see exactly what the taxpayer was doing and could guide taxpayers through the form, prompting them in real time about where to go and what to fill in.

"By sharing the same information on two different computer screens, the taxpayer is allowing the SARS agent to shadow them as they complete the return and even highlight areas on their screen for additional clarity," Lackay said.

Sensitive security fields including the taxpayer's banking details, password and log-in would not be visible to the SARS contact centre agents, but all other information would be. The system would generate a once-off pin allowing the contact centre agent read-only access to the taxpayer's screen.

Magashula said the use of this technology was a world first in a service environment.

Lackay expressed the hope that the new facility would alleviate some of the pressure on branch offices. Branch staff, on average, assisted more than 20 000 taxpayers a day.

Other new service initiatives announced earlier this year included filing from a cellphone or smartphone and a tablet.

Between 5-million and 6-million people would be filing their tax returns over the next months.

The first filing deadline is on September 28, for people who submit their returns by post or at SARS offices. Provisional taxpayers have to file by the end of January next year.

Non-provisional taxpayers submitting their returns electronically have until November 23.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge