SARS notice – Discontinuation of Debit Pull Transactions on eFiling

SARS is currently phasing out the use of Debit Pull transactions on eFiling and will be discontinued as from 3 October 2013.

Why is SARS discontinuing the use of Debit Pull transactions on eFiling?

With Debit Pull a taxpayer (or their approved representative) may authorise SARS to collect the money owed directly from their bank account (ie SARS is initiating the collection of monies owed on their behalf). This may cause several associated problems – Payment is not guaranteed (it can be reversed at the request of the taxpayer or rejected due to insufficient funds) and SARS is unable to validate that the person authorising the payment instruction for the debit pull is actually authorised/mandated to do so (resulting in payments being withdrawn from incorrect accounts).

Unauthorised actions places SARS at risk and it is in the best  interest of the taxpayer to not allow unauthorised withdrawals from their accounts.

Although the debit pull option is still available for one payment per tax type until the end of September (on condition that the approved representative agrees to a declaration appearing on the SARS eFiling screen), this will no longer be available after 3 October 2013.

Warnings will appear on eFiling where a Debit Pull transactions are no longer available – In such cases the Credit Push facility must be used.

With a credit push, the payment is performed by you, the bank account holder and taxpayer. When making a payment to SARS via eFiling:

– The final amount due-to-date is available to you;
– You are also supplied with a payment reference number (PRN) in the form of a payment request via the bank; and
– You will now physically authorise this request normally via internet banking. This acts as an instruction to your bank to make the payment.

Credit Push payments are considered to be irrevocable and can only be made if the account holder has the necessary funds.

To set-up credit pushes, follow these easy steps:

Top Tip: For certain banks additional information e.g. Group number, User number, Access number etc. will be required to access this facility. Please contact your bank to ask if this is required. SARS is aware that it is a requirement for the following banks:

– ABSA
– CitiBank
– NedBank
– Standard Bank Business Online (CATS)

Alternative methods of payment include:

– Over the counter payments at a bank (Limited to R500 000.00)
– EFT (Electronic funds transfer using internet banking)
– At a specific SARS branch, including customs (Limited to R100 000.00 for certain tax types)

If you require any assistance in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact Juanita Roman at our offices on 021 683 4834.