22 October 2007
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will from today extend its hours of
operation at all branch offices to accommodate queues of taxpayers at service
centres across the country.
Most SARS taxpayer service centres at branch offices will be open from 07h00
to 18h00 from today. Effectively, at most offices, this will allow for an extra
three hours per day during which taxpayers can receive free assistance from
SARS with completing their returns or for any other tax queries.
In addition to the extended office hours, SARS will also have service desks
and officials available in the big economic centres of the country to assist
with the overflow of taxpayer numbers and alleviate the pressure of queues at
branch offices until 31 October 2007:
* Johannesburg: Library Gardens from 09h00 until 15h00
* Pretoria: Church Square from 08h00 until 18h00
* Durban: Pavilion Shopping Centre from 09h00 until 18h00
* Bisho: Bisho Square from 08h00 until 18h00
* Mthatha: Mthatha Plaza from 08h00 until 18h00
* Cape Town: Company Gardens from 09h00 until 18h00.
The deadline for the manual submission of income tax returns is 31 October
2007. Given the number of income tax returns issued this year, SARS must urge
taxpayers to complete their returns and hand it in as soon as possible before
the deadline to avoid penalties and interest for late submissions.
Taxpayers can obtain and submit their returns through the following
channels:
* download a copy from the internet at http://www.sarsefiling.co.za
* hand in a completed return at a SARS branch office
* hand in the return at the South African Post Office
* complete and submit the return through SARS e-filing.
Enquiries:
SARS Call Centre
Tel: 0860 121 218
Issued by: South African Revenue Service
22 October 2007
Source: South African Revenue Service (http://www.sars.gov.za)
