The South African Revenue Service is leaning heavily on its AI and automated processes, which, according to tax experts, is resulting in a surge in new audits and ‘wreaking havoc’ on taxpayers.
“A trust is now able to lodge the relevant dispute on eFiling or at the SARS Branch. The manual ADR1 form for objections is no longer accepted for Trusts from 20 April 2024,” it said. Jashwin Baijoo, Head of Strategic Engagement and compliance at Tax Consulting SA, said that SARS’ push into automated processing using AI has resulted in the taxman fiercely pursuing a zero-tolerance policy on any non-compliance, even impacting historically compliant taxpayers.
“What this means for is an adverse finding being made by SARS, manifested in upward adjustments on amounts included in ‘Gross Income’.