Investigation into SARS' Handling of eFiling Account Hijackings

The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO), which serves as an independent check on the South African Revenue Service (SARS), is set to investigate how well SARS assists taxpayers whose eFiling accounts have been compromised.

eFiling hijacking occurs when fraudsters gain control of a taxpayer’s online filing profile, change the banking details, and divert tax refunds to their accounts. Subsequently, SARS reverses these fraudulent refunds, often leaving innocent taxpayers with unexpected tax debts.

Despite SARS' awareness of the fraud, affected taxpayers are still liable for these debts. This situation led to increased complaints from taxpayers and industry professionals, prompting the OTO to act. With required approvals from the Minister of Finance, the OTO is set to review SARS's internal systems, its policy execution, and its compliance with legal standards concerning SARS’s alleged service failures to help eFiling hijacking victims in time.

The investigation will also involve discussions with taxpayers and professional bodies impacted by these hijackings. The OTO aims to provide recommendations to improve SARS's processes and better protect taxpayers. These recommendations will likely influence future policy and operational changes at SARS to prevent such occurrences and ensure taxpayers are not unfairly penalised for fraud they did not commit. Tax professionals should monitor this situation closely for developments that may affect their practices and clients.

Read more about the open systemic issues currently investigated by the OTO here.