The South African Revenue Service (SARS) wishes to advise that in terms of section 35 (1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act of 2000, it is obliged to refuse requests for access to certain information.
In terms of this Section, SARS must refuse a request for access to its records if such records contain information, which was obtained or held for the purposes of enforcing legislation concerning the collection of revenue as defined in section 1 of the South African Revenue Service Act.
"(1) Subject to subsection (2), the information officer of the South African Revenue Service, referred to in section 2(3), must refuse a request for access to a record of that Service if it contains information which was obtained or is held by that Service for the purposes of enforcing legislation concerning the collection of revenue as defined in section 1 of the South African Revenue Service Act, 1997 (Act No. 34 of 1997).
(2) A record may not be refused in terms of subsection (1) insofar as it consists of information about the requester or the person on whose behalf the request is made."
The Information Officer and Deputy Information Officers of SARS
The information officer of SARS for purposes of the Act is the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service ("the Commissioner"). In terms of section 17 of the Act deputy information officers are designated as such by the Commissioner.
ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONER FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICE
PRETORIA