TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 PURPOSE 3 2 INTRODUCTION 3 3 LOGON TO THE EFILING WEBSITE 4 3.1 ACCESS THE REQUEST FOR OBJECTION OR APPEAL FORM AND ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY ASSESSMENT NOTICE 4 3.2 DETAILED PROCEDURES (SUBMIT NOO AND NOA VIA EFILING FOR PIT & CIT ASSESSED TAXES) 8 3.3 COMPLETE THE REQUEST FOR OBJECTION (NOO) OR APPEAL FORM (NOA) 10 3.3.1 APPLICANT DETAILS INDIVIDUAL 10 3.3.2 APPLICANT DETAILS COMPANY/TRUST/CLOSE CORPORATION/GOVERNMENT/FOREIGN ENTITY 10 3.3.3 PARTICULARS OF REPRESENTATIVE (PERSON DEALING WITH DISPUTE ON BEHALF OF TAXPAYER) 10 3.3.4 POSTAL ADDRESS FOR DELIVERY OF NOTICE (CORRESPONDENCE) 11 3.3.5 DECLARATION 11 3.3.6 ASSESSMENT UNDER DISPUTE 11 3.3.7 AMOUNTS UNDER DISPUTE ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY 12 3.3.8 REASONS AND GROUND FOR DISPUTE 12 3.3.9 AMOUNTS UNDER DISPUTE INCOME TAX ONLY 12 3.4 UPLOAD SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS 13 3.5 SUBMIT THE REQUEST FOR OBJECTION OR APPEAL 15 3.6 REQUEST ADMIN PENALTY STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT 18 4 CROSS REFERENCES 21 5 DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS 21 Revision: 4 Page 2 of 21
1 PURPOSE The purpose of this document is to assist taxpayers with the submission of objections and/or appeals via efiling for Personal Income Tax (PIT), Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Administrative Penalties for Income Tax. 2 INTRODUCTION A taxpayer can lodge a Request for Remission (RFR), Notice of Objection (NOO) and Notice of appeal (NOA) against IT administrative penalty assessment and a Notice of Objection (NOA) and Notice of Appeal (NOA) in relation to Personal Income Tax (PIT) and Corporate Income Tax (CIT) assessment. The NOO form can only be completed once the Request for Remission (RFR) has been submitted to SARS and the RFR has been partially allowed or disallowed. The NOA form can only be completed and submitted to SARS once the NOO has been submitted to SARS and the outcome of the objection has been received i.e. where a NOO has been partially allowed or disallowed. Validations will be run against the disputes that are lodged to ensure that the correct process is followed. Where the Income Tax (IT) Reference number is used on the NOO or NOA, only Personal Income Tax (PIT) or Corporate Income Tax (CIT) related disputes must be accepted. Multiple transactions (IT admin penalty) and source codes (PIT/CIT assessed taxes) may be disputed on the NOO or NOA form. In the case where the NOO was partially allowed or disallowed and you wish to submit a NOA, ensure that the appeal is based on the same items objected to. The same source code and the same amounts used in the NOO must be completed on the NOA. The following are the grounds and reasons that the taxpayer can select when disputing against IT admin penalty: SARS Error Serious Illness / Death/Liquidation/Sequestration Not Liable to File Other/ Mitigation Factors i.e. remedied in full, unable to remedy and partially remedied. Disputes against the IT admin penalties can be requested via any of the following channels: efiling At a local SARS branch SARS Contact centre on 0800 00 SARS (7277). The NOO and NOA forms will be posted to the taxpayer. The NOO and NOA or relevant material (supporting documents) can be submitted via any of the following channels: efiling At a local SARS branch Post or drop box. Where the NOO or NOA form is submitted manually and all mandatory fields are not completed, a letter will be generated and sent to the taxpayer together with the incomplete form. The taxpayer must complete ALL mandatory fields on the NOO and NOA form and resubmit to SARS. Revision: 4 Page 3 of 21
SARS can either ALLOW, PARTIALLY ALLOW or DISALLOW the objection or appeal against IT admin penalties by the taxpayer and the outcome of the objection or appeal will be communicated to the taxpayer by means of a dispute outcome letter (AP34D). This letter will be viewable on efiling if the NOO or NOA form was submitted via efiling. When the objection or appeal is fully allowed or partially allowed, the admin penalties in relation to the disputed transactions will be waived accordingly. When the request for remission outcome is disallowed, the reasons will be given on the dispute outcome letter i.e. AP34D. In terms of the Tax Administration Act, a taxpayer is not permitted to submit an objection if three or more years have expired since the date of assessment in relation to Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax and if more than three years has passed since the decision to partially allow or disallow the admin penalty request for remission (RFR). For more information and clarity, refer to the Dispute Resolution Guide available on the SARS website (www.sars.gov.za) or consult an advisor. Where a taxpayer received his/her penalty assessment notice through the post channel and subsequently registers for efiling, the taxpayer would be able to request a IT admin penalty statement of account from efiling in order to dispute the admin penalty. 3 LOGON TO THE EFILING WEBSITE Navigate to www.sarsefiling.co.za Click on Login and login with your Login name and Password. 3.1 ACCESS THE REQUEST FOR OBJECTION OR APPEAL FORM AND ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY ASSESSMENT NOTICE Click on Returns and select Returns History and then just below Returns History select Income Tax. A history of the taxpayer s returns will be displayed. Revision: 4 Page 4 of 21
Select the relevant return. The Income Tax work page will be displayed. To search for the Penalty Assessment Notice (AP34), click on SARS Correspondence and Search Admin Penalties. Under Tax Type, select Income Tax. Individual Income Tax page: The Administrative Penalties Work page will be accessible by clicking on a Penalty Assessment Notice on the Income Tax or the View hyperlink on the screen above. Revision: 4 Page 5 of 21
There will be various new functions available on this work page and they include the following: Viewing the Penalty Assessment Notice Querying the status of the non-compliance Disputing the Penalty Assessment Notice. Another way to view the dispute outcome notice is to select the link AP34 under the Administrative Penalty block on the Income Tax work page. To create a Request for objection or appeal, select Dispute on the Income Tax work page. (The Dispute button is also available on the AP34 PDF document if this option was selected. OR Revision: 4 Page 6 of 21
The dispute work page will open. Select the dispute option I would like to file a Notice of objection" or I would like to file a Notice of appeal". A table will be displayed that indicates all the penalty transactions that were imposed on the taxpayer s account. Select the penalty transaction which is under dispute and for which an objection will be requested. Note: The option to submit a Notice of Objection (NOO) can only be selected after the taxpayer has submitted a Request for Remission (RFR1) and SARS has notified the taxpayer of the outcome thereof i.e. if the request for remission outcome is disallowed or partially allowed. Click on Continue to display NOO or NOA form. A confirmation screen will appear select OK to continue or Cancel to discard. Revision: 4 Page 7 of 21
3.2 DETAILED PROCEDURES (SUBMIT NOO AND NOA VIA EFILING FOR PIT & CIT ASSESSED TAXES) Click on Returns and select Returns History and then just below Returns History select Income Tax A history of the taxpayer s returns will be displayed. Select the relevant return. The Income Tax work page will be displayed. Revision: 4 Page 8 of 21
If the user submitted a return via efiling and an IT34 has been issued and is available on the profile. Click on the Dispute button on the Income Tax work page or click on ITA34 and then select the Dispute button on the assessment itself. Select the correct Dispute option. I would like to file a Notice of Objection or I would like to file a Notice of Appeal A pop-up message will be displayed, click on OK Revision: 4 Page 9 of 21
3.3 COMPLETE THE REQUEST FOR OBJECTION (NOO) OR APPEAL FORM (NOA) Note: All applicants (individual and company/ close corporation/ government/ foreign entity) demographic details will be pre-populated on the form. 3.3.1 APPLICANT DETAILS INDIVIDUAL Ensure that the correct information is completed in the following fields: Surname First two names ID number (if the taxpayer does not have a South African ID number, a valid passport number must be captured in the field for passport number) Passport Number (this field must be completed if the taxpayer does not have a South African ID number) Passport country (country of issue), e.g. South Africa = ZAF Home telephone number (only numeric digits must be entered) Business telephone number (only numeric digits must be entered) Cell phone number (only a 10 digit numeric number must be entered) Contact email address. 3.3.2 APPLICANT DETAILS COMPANY/TRUST/CLOSE CORPORATION/GOVERNMENT/FOREIGN ENTITY Surname or Registered Name Trading or Other Name CK Number (This is the entity s registered number e.g. 2007/145689/07 Business telephone number (only numeric digits must be entered) Fax number (only numeric digits must be entered) Cell phone number (only a 10 digit numeric number must be entered) Contact email address. 3.3.3 PARTICULARS OF REPRESENTATIVE (PERSON DEALING WITH DISPUTE ON BEHALF OF TAXPAYER) Surname Initials ID number (if the taxpayer does not have a South African ID number, a valid passport number must be captured in the field for passport number) Passport country (country of issue), e.g. South Africa = ZAF Passport Number (this field must be completed if the taxpayer does not have a South African ID number) Cell phone number (only a 10 digit numeric number must be entered) Telephone number (only numeric digits must be entered) Fax number (only numeric digits must be entered) Tax Practitioner Registration number Revision: 4 Page 10 of 21
Capacity (The relevant block must be ticked) Accounting officer for Local / Public Authority / Accountant (The relevant block must be ticked) Contact email address Are you signing on behalf of the taxpayer? If yes, do you have a power of attorney from the taxpayer? Is the taxpayer aware of and agree with the grounds of the dispute? Reason why taxpayer is unable to sign this dispute. 3.3.4 POSTAL ADDRESS FOR DELIVERY OF NOTICE (CORRESPONDENCE) Please ensure that the postal address is completed in the following sequence: Box/Bag number Suburb/District City Country Postal code For street delivery, please follow the physical address format. 3.3.5 DECLARATION Complete the date in the format CCYYMMDD before submitting the form. 3.3.6 ASSESSMENT UNDER DISPUTE Please ensure that the assessment type is correctly pre-populated from the efiling screens already completed: Income Tax Administrative Penalty. Revision: 4 Page 11 of 21
3.3.7 AMOUNTS UNDER DISPUTE ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY Transaction number: The transaction number(s) will be pre-populated from the selection made from the list of transactions as it appears on the Penalty Notice of Assessment (AP34). 3.3.8 REASONS AND GROUND FOR DISPUTE Select the relevant reason for dispute from the following: Serious Illness/Sequestration/Liquidation or Death Not liable to file SARS error Other/Mitigation factors. For reasons SARS error or Other/Mitigation factors, the taxpayer must provide details of the reason in the blocks provided. Note: The mandatory fields will be indicated in red. 3.3.9 AMOUNTS UNDER DISPUTE INCOME TAX ONLY Ensure that the information is correctly pre-populated from the efiling screens already submitted and complete any outstanding information: Document Number Tax Year (CCYY) Source Code Amount reflected on assessment Rands Only Amount that should be reflected Rands Only Difference Rands Only Revision: 4 Page 12 of 21
Provisional Tax Additional Tax / Understatement Penalty Penalties Interest. Ensure that the information is correctly pre-populated from the efiling screens already submitted: Reason(s) for late submission of NOA / NOO if applicable. 3.4 UPLOAD SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS Click on the Dispute Supporting Documents link to upload the documents on the Dispute Work page. The supporting documents page will be displayed. Revision: 4 Page 13 of 21
Click on the Browse button and select the relevant documents to upload. After uploading the relevant material, click on the Submit to SARS button to submit. A message will be displayed to confirm that the correct documents that are required will be submitted to SARS. Click OK to confirm and continue. Revision: 4 Page 14 of 21
Upon submission of the relevant material, the message in the status field will indicate successful submission of the relevant material and that the Dispute form must be submitted. 3.5 SUBMIT THE REQUEST FOR OBJECTION OR APPEAL After completion of the objection or appeal form, the taxpayer can select one of two options: Select Save Online to save the NOO or NOA form and to submit to SARS at a later stage Select File to submit the NOO or NOA form to SARS If the user selects Save Online the following message will be displayed: Revision: 4 Page 15 of 21
If the user selects File the following message will be displayed, if no relevant material has been uploaded to substantiate or prove the dispute. If you have successfully uploaded relevant material, you will receive the following message after you click File to submit the dispute form. In terms of the Tax Administration Act, a taxpayer is not permitted to submit an objection if three or more years have expired since the date of assessment in relation to Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax and if more than three years has passed since the decision to partially allow or disallow the admin penalty request for remission (RFR). If the NOO is submitted and three or more years have expired since the decision to partially allow or disallow the request for remission (RFR), the following message will be displayed: For more information regarding the three year rule, consult the Dispute Resolution Guide available on the SARS website (www.sars.gov.za) or consult an advisor for further clarity. Validation messages will be displayed if the dispute transaction is invalid. One of the following messages may be displayed: If NOA before NOO, Dispute process not followed. Request for Objection not lodged will be displayed. Revision: 4 Page 16 of 21
If NOO already exist, Incorrect dispute process followed. Objection process in progress will be displayed. If NOA already exist, Correct dispute process not followed. Appeal process in progress Will be displayed. If NOO for this transaction is finalised, Request for Objection already disallowed, a NOA must be lodged. If NOO before Request for Remission, Dispute process not followed. Request for Remission not lodged will be displayed. If NOO is submitted whilst an Audit is in progress, Active Audit case exists. Dispute not allowed at this time will be displayed. Revision: 4 Page 17 of 21
On the dispute workpage, the status will be indicated as rejected by SARS if the incorrect process has been followed: 3.6 REQUEST ADMIN PENALTY STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT Where a taxpayer received his/her penalty assessment notice through the post and subsequently registers for efiling, the taxpayer would be able to request a IT admin penalty statement of account from efiling in order to dispute the admin penalty after successfully registration and activation of the IT Admin penalties tax type. If the IT Admin Penalties tax type is not activated, the following message will be displayed when you select the Request Admin Penalty SOA option under SARS Correspondence. To activate the IT Admin Penaties tax type, individuals should select the Home tab and then Tax Types. Tax practitioners must select Organisation and Organisation Tax Types. Ensure that the correct taxpayer is selected from the taxpayer list. Ensure that you select IT Admin Penalty and click Register to continue. Revision: 4 Page 18 of 21
Upon successful activation, the status will be updated and you will be able to proceed to request an Admin Penalty Statement of Account(SOA). To request the Admin Penalty SOA, click on Returns then SARS Correspondence and Request Admin Penalty SOA. The Request Administrative Penalty Statement of Account screen will be displayed. Select the year that you wish to request a statement for and click Continue. The following screen that will be displayed, will indicate the start and end period of the year selected. Click Submit to continue to request the statement or the Back button to proceed to the previous screen. Revision: 4 Page 19 of 21
The link to the SOA will be displayed. Click on the link to open the SOA. The Administrative Penalty statement of account will be displayed. Click on the Dispute button to launch the dispute options. Proceed with steps described from 2.2 above to complete and submit the relevant dispute form. Revision: 4 Page 20 of 21
4 CROSS REFERENCES DOCUMENT # DOCUMENT TITLE APPLICABILITY GEN-PEN-05-G01 How to submit Request for Remission via All efiling External Guide 5 DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS CIT IT NOO NOA PIT RFR SARS Corporate Income Tax Income Tax Notice of Objection Notice of Appeal Personal Income Tax Request for Remission South African Revenue Service DISCLAIMER The information contained in this guide is intended as guidance only and is not considered to be a legal reference, nor is it a binding ruling. The information does not take the place of legislation and readers who are in doubt regarding any aspect of the information displayed in the guide should refer to the relevant legislation, or seek a formal opinion from a suitably qualified individual. For more information about the contents of this publication you may: Visit the SARS website at www.sars.gov.za Visit your nearest SARS branch Contact your own tax advisor/tax practitioner If calling from within South Africa, contact the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 SARS (7277) If calling from outside South Africa, contact the SARS Contact Centre on +27 11 602 2093 (only between 8am and 4pm South African time). Revision: 4 Page 21 of 21