What is an Audit?
An audit is a process that SARS undertakes to make sure that a tax payer contributes honestly and fairly towards his or her taxes. Whether we audit or not depends on the information that you send to SARS.
After you have submitted your return for a tax year you could be selected for an audit. This process is done by an automated risk engine after you’ve submitted the return.
If you are selected for an audit you will be notified by SARS through your chosen means of communication which could be an sms, an email or an official letter indicating that you are to be audited and you therefore need to submit all relevant documentation to support your claims/declarations. If you have a refund due to you, it will only be paid once the audit is completed.
Who can be audited?
Any tax payer can be audited by SARS and be asked to submit the relevant documentation which could be a travel log book, receipts of medical expenses paid for by the tax payer, medical certificates and retirement annuity certificates.
What steps should I take if I am audited?
Upon receiving a notification that you are to be audited, you should then submit all relevant documentation with 21 working days of date on the letter.
- If you are an eFiler you should scan all your supporting documents and save them, then log onto e-filing, upload your documents and submit them on eFiling.
- Alternatively you can talk to us on SA Tax Guide.
If you don’t comply on the first letter, a second letter will be sent out, and if still you do not respond on the second letter then the auditors will call you and give you a minimum of 5 working days to submit the relevant documents. If still after this no documents are submitted all expenses will be disallowed and the assessment will then be sent through to you. So it is better to answer the queries straight away.
If you want to object the assessment, you must submit your objection on the Notice of Objection (NOO) form which can be submitted via eFiling and if you are not happy with the outcome of the Notice of Objection (NOO), you must follow the Notice of Appeal (NOA) process which is a different form and the form can be found in a branch office.
Top tip: When submitting the documents to SARS please submit all documents that were used in the completion of your return for the tax year.
DO NOT WORRY – SA Team will be on your side all the way through.