The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) made progress during the 2023/24 financial year against its strategic objectives, but more still needs to be done to bolster this, the organisation highlighted during the launch of its annual report on November 6.

The OTO is an independent and impartial officer that deals with taxpayers’ complaints against the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

The OTO is aiming to continue to improve on resolution turnaround times.

Progress has also been made in the number of people using its services this year, attributed to its outreach programmes. However, this needs to be bolstered, with government seeking to improve access to underserved areas, Tax Ombud Yanga Mputa pointed out.

The OTO’s first strategic objective is to review and address complaints by taxpayers against Sars.

During the period, 99% of complaints were captured within two days; 99% of complaints were evaluated and reviewed within eight days; and 98% of close-out reports were actioned within four days of receipt from Sars.

The OTO received 4 676 complaints during the 2023/24 financial year. Complaints received in the period increased by 16.49% (622 complaints), compared with the previous financial year.

The OTO validated 4 618 complaints, rejected 1 330, terminated 895 and accepted 2 393.

Complaints were rejected owing to these not falling within the OTO mandate or the authority of the OTO.

Sars implemented 2 178 OTO complaints in the period.

Only 29.98% of complaints were resolved in 15 days during the period, while the rest were resolved outside of this timeframe. This is, however, an improvement by Sars when compared with the 26.6% in the previous year.

The sum of the top ten refunds paid to taxpayers through the OTO intervention was R179-million.

The second strategic objective of the OTO is to contribute to the improvement of the tax administration system and build confidence in this.

The OTO identified and investigated five possible systemic issues during the period. A decision was taken not to further investigate the systemic issues identified, as there was insufficient cause to do so.

The OTO started the year with nine open systemic issues that were available for implementation/resolution by Sars. Three systemic issues consisting of the main issues and sub-issues were removed from the systemic register.

While the OTO’s recommendations are not binding on Sars, the entity has, overall, implemented about 99.77% of these.

The third strategic objective of the OTO is to create an agile organisation that can scale efficiently to meet taxpayer demands.

The OTO achieved 262 community outreach activities during the period, surpassing its target of 142.

The fourth strategic objective of the OTO is to promote stakeholder engagement and collaboration. The OTO achieved 103 stakeholder engagement activities during the period, surpassing its target of 40.

The OTO highlights that there was more interest from stakeholders to engage with the organisation during the period.

The fifth strategic objective of the OTO is to optimise governance structures, risk management and business processes. The OTO received an unqualified audit conclusion on the audit of performance information.

The OTO’s approved budget for the period was R51.2-million. Total expenditure was R51.65-million.

National Treasury approved R3.1-million relating to the previous year’s retained surplus.

Sars transferred R1.6-million for ICT costs.

The total budget for the period increased to R55.9-million. The main contributor to the favourable variance of R4.3-million was delays in the implementation of the digital communication framework, media space advertising and creative agency services, the OTO says.

Total employees were 40 at period end. Three employees resigned, one retired, and one transferred to Sars during the year.

There were six appointments during the year.

There were 11 vacant positions as at March 31.

The OTO says it is reconsidering its structure, to improve how it uses its resources, with the aim of reducing its vacancy rate. The inclusion of people with disabilities is also being pursued.

The sixth strategic objective of the OTO is to enhance and strengthen the mandate of the OTO. Proposed amendments on the Tax Administration Act have been sent to National Treasury for consideration.