SARS has wide powers when it comes to the collection of tax debts and just one of these is the power to collect money owed by taxpayers from third parties who hold money for those taxpayers, such as a bank. This means that SARS can indeed take outstanding tax amounts from a personal or business bank account without your consent, by instructing the bank to pay the amount outstanding over to SARS through a process called Third Party Appointment (TPA). The same instruction can be issued by SARS to other third parties that hold money on behalf of a taxpayer, such as an employer, a customer, an insurance company, or an attorney. 

Given the  significant negative implications this could have for a taxpayer, whether an individual or a company, there are certain procedures SARS must follow before it can collect tax debt via a third party appointment or another collection method, and individual and business taxpayers are well advised to understand how a tax debt can arise without their knowledge, and how to prevent SARS from collecting such tax debt from their bank accounts without their consent.  

What is a tax debt? 

While filing correct returns and making payments on time will protect taxpayers from tax debts, penalties and interest, taxpayers may not be able to meet these requirements on time for a range of reasons. 

As such, administrative penalties on late or non-submission of tax returns, failure to submit tax returns, the submission of returns without payment, or partial payment of a tax liability can all result in a tax debt, which can also arise from a SARS assessment, or from an audit.

How can a tax debt be collected? 

SARS’ powers to collect tax debt are extensive, and include: 

• Recovering tax debt through third parties who hold money on taxpayers’ behalf, such as banks, employers, customers, insurance companies or attorneys. If such a third party fails to adhere to the appointment, the third party can be held personally liable to SARS and may be convicted of a criminal offence.
• Issuing a judgement and having a taxpayer blacklisted. 
• Obtaining a preservation order in respect of taxpayer assets. 
• Attaching and selling taxpayer assets.
• Bringing sequestration or liquidation proceedings against a taxpayer.
• Holding directors, members or related parties liable for the company’s tax debt.

When can SARS collect tax debt? 

If you cannot pay a tax debt to SARS and do not follow the correct procedures, SARS is legally allowed to exercise its powers of collection as detailed above, even if you are disputing the debt! 

Fortunately, SARS must also follow the correct procedures. These include that the taxpayer must have received an assessment from SARS detailing how much is due and by when, as well as a final demand for payment that states available debt relief mechanisms contained in the Tax Administration Act (TAA); and recovery steps that SARS may take if the tax debt is not paid. 

Only 10 business days after delivery of the final demand, if no response has been received from the taxpayer, can a senior SARS official authorise a third party to collect the tax debt. 

If SARS does not follow these steps detailed in the TAA, collection proceedings may be regarded as illegal and in contravention of the TAA and the taxpayer will have recourse against SARS via its Complaint Management Office (CMO), the Tax Ombud or legal action.

But, of course, prevention is far better than cure. 

How to prevent SARS from taking money from your account 

• Keep tax affairs up to date – SARS says that when deciding the most appropriate way to deal with outstanding tax obligations, it will give considerable weight to the tax debtors’ individual circumstances and compliance history of, for example, lodging correct returns and documents, and paying taxes on time. 

• Update your details with SARS – SARS is required to inform taxpayers of assessments, notifications or communications issued by also sending a message to a taxpayer’s last known number or email address. This makes it crucial to keep your contact details updated at SARS to ensure you receive these communications timeously. Many taxpayers miss pertinent notifications and letters of demand because they did not receive notifications or discovered these too late in an unattended mailbox. 

• Proactively monitor for unexpected tax liabilities – A tax debt can arise for many reasons as explained earlier and can also be due to errors or omissions made by the taxpayer, a tax practitioner, or even SARS itself, or could be caused by missed communications or incorrect payment allocations. For this reason, individuals and businesses should check their compliance status with SARS and obtain a statement of account on the various taxes payable from their accountant, both proactively and on a regular basis, and certainly every time an email or SMS is received from SARS.

• React professionally and swiftly to communications – All communications from SARS should be prioritised for immediate action, particularly those informing a taxpayer of a tax liability or demanding payment, even in the case of an obvious mistake. Whether the tax debt is disputed or not, SARS must be engaged legally, and it is crucial that the correct procedures are followed.

• Understand the options – There are, fortunately, ways to make arrangements with SARS to settle a tax debt and to avoid the debt collection process that can include money being taken from your bank account. 

For example, taxpayers who can prove serious financial hardship can apply to SARS for a reduction of the amount within 5 business days of receiving the final demand or extend the period over which the amount must be paid. If the debt is to be disputed, taxpayers can apply for a suspension of payment. Where the tax debt is not disputed, but cannot be settled immediately, taxpayers can either apply for a payment arrangement over time; or can request a debt compromise.

• Beware the “pay-now-argue-later” principle – Objecting to a tax debt does not suspend the obligation to pay it. The only way to prevent SARS’ collection process from continuing when formally lodging an objection is to also formally request a suspension of payment. SARS collection procedures are suspended between the dates that SARS receives the request until 10 business days after SARS’s decision to grant the Suspension of Payment request. However, interest will accrue on the unpaid debt. If SARS denies the Suspension of Payment request, the taxpayer can apply to SARS for a payment plan. 

In all these instances, professional assistance is strongly recommended.