SARS Audits & Verifications
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The Flagship Service
Know Before You Commit, Not After
A verification is not an accusation. SARS routinely selects returns for verification, sometimes on a specific risk indicator and sometimes on a broader basis. What matters is the response. A complete, well-organised submission frequently closes the matter a partial or disorganised one invites further questions, and an audit that could have ended in weeks runs for months.
There is also a real difference between a verification and an audit. A verification is a comparison of the information declared against supporting documents. An audit is a substantive examination of the underlying position, carries wider information-gathering powers, and can result in additional assessments and understatement penalties.
Where We Assist:
- Verification requests for supporting documents
- Full audits, correspondence and information requests
- Requests for relevant material under the Tax Administration Act
- Responses to a letter of audit findings
- Disputes arising from an audit assessments and penalties
- Voluntary correction, before SARS finds the error
Where an audit results in an understatement, the Tax Administration Act provides for penalties calculated according to behaviour from a reasonable error at the lower end to intentional evasion at the upper end. The behaviour classification is frequently the most productive ground of challenge, and it is often more valuable to contest the classification than the underlying adjustment.
How This Started
What to Do When the Letter Arrives
Answers to what taxpayers ask us most often. A starting point, not advice on your own position.
Read what has actually been asked
The scope matters. Supplying substantially more than requested can widen the enquiry unnecessarily. Supplying less guarantees a follow-up.
Note the deadline immediately
Response periods are short. Where documentation genuinely cannot be assembled in time, request an extension before the deadline passes.
Establish your own position first
The options available to a taxpayer who identifies an error themselves are considerably better than the options available once SARS has found it
Answer once, completely
An organised, indexed response that connects each document to the line item it supports. An unsorted bundle is how a verification becomes an audit.
Your Questions Answered
Common Questions
Answers to what taxpayers ask us most often. A starting point, not advice on your own position.
No. Only a binding ruling issued by SARS itself has that effect. A well-reasoned opinion establishes that your position was taken on a considered legal basis, relevant to both defending the position and to penalties.
Yes. As a registered tax practitioner we can be appointed to act for you and manage the process from request through to outcome.
You have the right to object to the additional assessment and any understatement penalty. Where the tax is correct but unaffordable, a payment arrangement or compromise may be available.
No. Returns are selected on a risk basis, and many verifications involve nothing more than confirming figures match supporting documents.
Received a Verification or Audit Letter?
Send us the letter before you respond to it. Establishing what SARS is asking, and what your records actually show, is far cheaper now than dealing with an additional assessment later.