Tax Refund

Dear Tax Man,

ID: ***

Refund Status: Your Income Tax refund for *** is on hold due to your banking details being in the process of verification. We strive to complete the process within 21 working days by the 10th of August 2024.

On the 6th of August, a bank statement was uploaded. On the 10th of August, I waited 21 working days. After 21 working days, my query was not attended to so I had to call the SARS Call Centre. An agent misled me by saying I should load my banking details manually. On 2024/09/15 at 17:51:34, I received another correspondence to load my banking statement and was sent an automated correspondence to wait for another 21 working days after uploading my bank statement along with my picture. A case number was also provided holding my ID Copy.

After waiting another 21 working days, I still did not receive any correspondence as my query was ignored for the second time. I then visited SARS Bloemfontein to file a complaint under Case *** on the 23rd of October. An email was sent and I received a response from *** on the 24th of October 2024 at 09:27 with a letter requesting that multiple banking details be loaded on my profile and that I need to delete all but one with my tax number. These banking details were loaded by SARS officials every time I visited the SARS branch at Bloemfontein or spoke via telephone.

The multiple banking details were then deleted and my ID copy was requested to be uploaded. On 2024/10/24 at 09:33:26, my ID copy was uploaded. On 2024/10/26 at 16:32:20, new correspondence was sent instructing me to wait another 21 days. On the 28th, I visited SARS Bethlehem to lodge a complaint, but the lady who was assisting me was unable to do so due to the new 21 working day wait.

During my first visit on 2024/07/29 at 17:33:24, I had my bank statement and ID copy, however, the SARS official did not upload any of my documents onto my profile. On the 10th of August, I uploaded my banking details without a picture or ID copy. SARS was supposed to request my photo with ID and picture only, but no one attended to my query. On the 15th of September, banking details were uploaded for a second time with a picture, holding my ID Copy and case number ***.

I uploaded my ID Copy with only one side visible on the 26th of October. However, on the correspondence, it was not mentioned that I needed to upload both sides of my smart ID. On the 28th of October, I visited the SARS branch and the lady who assisted me scanned a double-sided copy of my ID and uploaded it to my profile.

I have been waiting for 3 months (August-October) for verification of my banking details. SARS has deducted more than R6000 in penalties from my refund; until today, they cannot refund me. This is unacceptable. I am not willing to wait another 21 working days just for ID verification. This is a clear display of the incompetence of SARS officials and unfair treatment towards taxpayers.

Thank you.