During the second half of 2000 the South African Revenue Services initiated a process to enable SARS to become an e-commerce-enabled business.
In the final analysis SARS opted to appoint a number of Service Providers to facilitate the electronic submission of VAT, PAYE, SDL and Provisional Tax Returns and payments.
The selection process commenced with the publication of a Service Provider Application Specification, on the SARS web site (www.sars.gov.za), on 18 December 2000 to invite applications from aspirant Service Providers. At an information session conducted on 10 January 2001 interested parties were briefed on SARSĘ expectations and answers to additional questions were furnished. The closing date for applications was 19 January 2001, upon which 14 applications were received. All these applications were evaluated in accordance with a predefined and auditor-approved process.
After comprehensive evaluation and objective deliberation SARS decided to appoint the following enterprises as E-Filing Service Providers for a period of two years:
Contractual negotiations with these companies will commence on 14 February 2001 and electronic return submission and payment facilities, initially including VAT, PAYE, SDL and Provisional Tax, are expected to be available from the end of May 2001.
Ensuing phases will concentrate on more specialized services including for instance personal tax returns, customs and excise, online registrations etc. This could clearly result in more specialized service requirements leading to the appointment of additional specialist Service Providers. The appointment of additional Service Providers for the other specialized areas will be conducted according to the same procedures applied during the selection of the initial group.
The achievement of this milestone means that taxpayers will soon be afforded the luxury of receiving, completing, submitting and paying tax returns through trusted and secure computerized facilities on a 24 hours per day basis.
ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONER FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICE
PRETORIA