SARS Explains Fast Track Dispute Resolution At Series Of Roadshows

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

11 September 2003

The South African Revenue Service has inaugurated its national dispute resolution roadshow with an event in Johannesburg this week. The half day seminars, aimed towards the accounting and legal professions, are designed to clarify the rules surrounding the new fast-track system.

Commenting on the launch of the roadshow, Mark Kingon, SARS Assistant General Manager of Enforcement, Mark Kingon sad: "With the exception of Customs & Excise, the new tax dispute rules and procedures apply to all South African tax legislation administered by SARS, including marketable securities, transfer duty, estate duty, stamp duty, value added tax (VAT), and uncertificated securities tax, skills development levies, unemployment insurance contributions and tax on retirement funds."

The new fast track resolution procedure is designed to radically reduce the time in which tax disputes are resolved after SARS received many complaints over the length of cases, which often drag on for years. Under the new system, SARS must deal with a lodged complaint within 60 days.

"The ADR (alternative dispute resolution) process will be cheaper, less formal than the traditional court process and will dramatically reduce the time normally taken to resolve substantial tax disputes. The process must be concluded within 90 days," explained Kingon who added that taxpayers retain the right to have cases referred to a Tax Court or a special board.

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