Durban - The South African Revenue Service (Sars) said it is experiencing delays in servicing taxpayers due to the industrial action taking place.
Sars announced on Tuesday that Public Servants Association of South Africa and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union members embarked on industrial action as per the notice given by the union to Sars management.
It said the dispute arose because of the unions’ rejection of the available R70 million for baseline increases for bargaining unit employees.
“Sars has communicated that it does not decide on its own funding, but is dependent on an annual allocation made through a process managed by National Treasury. The demand of labour of CPI plus 7% is simply unaffordable until the Sars receives further funding,” said Sars.
On Wednesday Sars apologised for any inconvenience due to the industrial action taking place across the country.
“While the below branches may be closed to the public, they will continue to honour virtual appointments, as booked. In the event that a virtual booking is not honoured please note that the branch will follow up to do the necessary service recovery,” said the statement.
Sars urged the public to continue to also make use of its digital services during this time.
“Sars is currently processing large volumes of tax refunds, therefore, some refunds are taking longer than 72 hours. We apologise for the inconvenience,” said Sars in a notice issued on their Facebook page earlier today.
A list of all tax branches that are closed today:
Gauteng:
- Alberton
- Benoni
- Edenvale
- Randfontein
- Ashlea Gardens
Kwazulu-Natal:
- Durban
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
Western Cape:
- Beaufort West
- Cape Town
- Paarl
- Mitchells Plain
Eastern Cape:
- Mthatha
- Gqeberha
- East London
Northern Cape:
- Upington
Mpumalanga:
- Mbombela
- Emalahleni
Limpopo:
- Giyani
- Sibasa
- Lebowakgomo
- Polokwane
Yesterday, Sars said its Contact Centre was experiencing high call volumes.
“The Contact Centre volumes status will be updated from time-to-time, please check back on this webpage on a regular basis,” it said.
The following Contact Centre queues are closed due to strike action:
- PAYE
- VAT
- Customs
- PCC (practitioner)
- SMME
- LBC
- HYEF call-back
- MobiApp
- SARS HYEF Web
Sars encouraged the public to use available information on the website to help resolve queries.