South Africa Launches New Whatsapp Channel Where Taxpayers Can Get Tax Info. As part of efforts to fulfil its promise to embrace modern technologies to make tax compliance easier for taxpayers, the South African Revenue Service has established a new WhatsApp channel.
The essence of creating the channel is to aid taxpayers in getting information regarding their tax refunds and other tax-related queries easier and faster.
According to SARS, the channel is explicitly for tax inquiries that have to do with personal income tax and is available on both the mobile and desktop versions of WhatsApp.
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SA Launches New Whatsapp Channel Where Taxpayers Can Get Tax Info: How to Get Onboard
To obtain access to the channel on mobile, taxpayers will be required to save the SARS WhatsApp number 0800 11 7277 in their contact list.
To initiate communication, taxpayers should simply send a “Hi” or “Hello” using a mobile device number registered on the SARS systems, and SARS will reply with a description of the service offerings and a service request menu.
Some of the services available on the channel include: Request your Tax Reference Number; Request your Statement of Account; Request your Return Refund Status; Request your Audit Status; and Request your Notice of Assessment.
There is however one change that SARS made regarding its service that signals a setback, such as the way it handles older tax filings, like tax returns that need to be regularised from over five years ago.
Taxpayers cannot file tax returns older than five years through e-filing and its digital platforms. Instead, they are required to book an appointment with SARS to sort it out in-branch.
The tax body is yet to give a reason for making the change, and according to tax experts, it could lead to backlogs in an already delayed system.
The good news though is that the new WhatsApp channel will make it easier for taxpayers who are current with their tax affairs to get their tax information.
Furthermore, it should relieve SARS call centres of the pressure they have been under due in this past week due to the rollout of auto assessments and related queries.
Taxpayers worried about their auto assessment status are urged to be patient with the process—which is still rolling out and will continue to do so until 14 July—and to stay updated online.
They can check to see if they are in the auto-assessment population this year by checking their status on the SARS Online Query System (SOQS).
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