South African Revenue Service

This article is about the South African tax agency. For other uses, see SARS (disambiguation).
South African Revenue Service
Agency overview
Formed1 October 1997; 26 years ago (1997-10-01)
Preceding agencies
  • Department of Inland Revenue
  • Department of Customs and Excise
JurisdictionGovernment of South Africa
HeadquartersLehae la Sars Building
Pretoria, South Africa
Employees12,479 (2020/21)[1]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Edward Kieswetter, Commissioner
Parent departmentNational Treasury
Key document
Websitesars.gov.za

25°46′22.06″S 28°13′56.13″E / 25.7727944°S 28.2322583°E / -25.7727944; 28.2322583The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the revenue service of the South African government. It administers the country's tax system and customs service, and enforces compliance with related legislation.[2] It is governed by the SARS Act 34 of 1997, which established it as "an organ of state within the public administration, but as an institution outside the public service."[1] It thus has a significant degree of administrative autonomy, although it is under the policy control of the Minister of Finance.[1] Effectively, SARS manages, administers, and implements the tax regime as designed by the Minister and National Treasury.

SARS was established in 1997 by a merger of the customs and inland revenue departments, at the recommendation of the Katz Commission, which had been instituted to review the South African tax system for the post-apartheid era. In subsequent years, under the leadership of Pravin Gordhan, SARS gained a reputation for effectiveness.[3][4][5][6] However, between 2014 and 2018, the agency's tax collection and investigative capacities were severely undermined, or even "decimated,"[7] as a result of a restructuring which has been called a "premeditated offensive,"[8] allegedly calculated to enable the capture of SARS.[9][10][11][12] Such allegations were investigated by the 2018 Nugent Commission.

  1. ^ a b c Annual report 2020/21 (PDF). Pretoria: South African Revenue Service. 2021. ISBN 978-0-621-48819-7.
  2. ^ "About SARS". South African Revenue Service. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  3. ^ Ndlovu, Thatshisiwe (2017). "Fiscal Histories of Sub-Saharan Africa: the Case of South Africa". Public Affairs Research Institute. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  4. ^ The capture and restructuring of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) (PDF). Pretoria: The Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa. 2021-03-24.
  5. ^ Hausman, David (2014-07-11). "Reworking the Revenue Service: Tax Collection in South Africa, 1999-2009". Reworking the Revenue Service: Tax Collection in South Africa, 1999-2009.
  6. ^ Smith, Laïla (2003). "The Power of Politics: The performance of the South African Revenue Service and some of its implications". Policy: Issues and Actors 16 (2). Johannesburg: Centre for Policy Studies. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  7. ^ Ensor, Linda (2021-04-29). "Encouraging signs of a revitalised Sars, says Edward Kieswetter". Business Day. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Marrian, Natasha (2019-07-02). "Sars and treasury to pursue criminal charges against Bain & Co". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  10. ^ Merten, Marianne (2019-02-28). "State Capture wipes out third of SA's R4.9-trillion GDP – never mind lost trust, confidence, opportunity". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  11. ^ Nicolson, Greg (2021-03-23). "Bain & Co planned to work with Zuma to 'reshape SA economy', says former partner Athol Williams". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  12. ^ The Enablers: The Bankers, Accountants and Lawyers That Cashed In on State Capture (PDF). Cape Town: Open Secrets. 2020. ISBN 978-0-620-86351-3.