Beware of SARS digging back into the past

For the 2023 tax year

Having been retired for some time I had not believed that there was a necessity for me to submit an annual tax return. However in 2023 I became the main member of the medical aid and submitted a return to be able to get the tax relief on the subscriptions and medical expenses. On submitting the return the response from SARS was that I had to submit returns for 2*** and for 2001. I submitted nil returns. I received a revised assessment for 2001. Most likely that was the year that I had stopped working and had not received the IRP5 from my employers and hence had not submitted the return. I do not dispute that the return may have been outstanding. However my remuneration package at that time included a number of allowances, most significantly a car allowance, and the reassessment generated by SARS did not allow for the offset of any expenses against the allowances and hence resulted in the calculation of a tax liability in excess of R20k. Now this was over 20 years ago. The prescription period for the retention of documents has long passed and I can't even remember what vehicle I was driving at the time never mind the requirements for claiming vehicle expenses at that time. So obviously I had no supporting documents available to substantiate an expenses claim - who keeps that stuff for 20 years and if they if would they be able to locate it.

So I lodged an objection with SARS and requested that I be allowed to claim expenses equal in amount against the allowances. Over many months and battling with SARS E-filing and making an appointment with a SARS representative it has been all to no avail. The objection has been disallowed due to lack of supporting documentation.

Had the outstanding return been brought to my notice 22 years ago when it was current, I would have been in a better position to submit a bona fide return, but not 20 years later. Seems there is no prescription period that applies to SARS