SARS Initiates WhatsApp Contact for Unpaid Tax Collections

• SARS is expanding its digital communication efforts, including WhatsApp, to recover unpaid taxes amid growing tax debt
• SARS's Project AmaBillions aims to substantially reduce R518 billion in undisputed tax debt with new funding and personnel
• The increased collaboration with financial institutions enhances enforcement actions against non-compliant taxpayers, with potential financial consequences

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is expanding its efforts to recover unpaid taxes by increasing digital communication with taxpayers, including contact through WhatsApp, as part of a broader strategy to address the country's growing tax debt.

Contact through WhatsApp

According to IOL, Junaid Bhayla, team lead for tax debts at Tax Consulting SA, said the revenue service was combining new digital outreach with a R7-billion funding boost and the recruitment of 1,500 additional debt collectors to pursue R518 billion in undisputed tax debt. He said these steps formed part of SARS's Project AmaBillions initiative, which targets outstanding tax liabilities and aims to systematically reduce the national tax debt backlog. Bhayla said SARS planned to collect between R20-billion and R50-billion in additional revenue by intensifying its debt recovery programme. The revenue service also aimed to increase recovered tax debt from R95-billion to at least R120-billion during the 2025/26 fiscal year.

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He said taxpayers should no longer assume that SARS communicates only through traditional channels such as letters or email. As part of its digital transformation, the authority had broadened its communication methods to include direct engagement through platforms such as WhatsApp and other digital channels. Bhayla warned that ignoring these messages could have financial consequences. He said SARS was increasingly using technology, data analytics and third-party information to identify taxpayers with outstanding obligations and to initiate contact with them.

According to Bhayla, SARS has also strengthened enforcement measures by expanding cooperation with financial institutions, including banks, and allocating resources to work with legal professionals to pursue civil judgments against non-compliant taxpayers. He said these enforcement actions were not implemented without prior notice. SARS first issues Letters of Final Demand to notify taxpayers of outstanding debts and warn that collection steps will follow if they fail to engage with the revenue service.

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Source: Briefly News