The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has already paid roughly R10 billion in refunds to at least 1.6 million taxpayers who were auto-assessed ahead of this year\u2019s Tax Season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is according to SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, who briefed the media on Tuesday (16 July).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first two weeks of July, the Revenue Service auto-assessed at least five million taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe [SARS] completed these annual returns and tax assessments while simultaneously running each assessment outcome through our compliance risk and tax fraud detection capability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“All this is possible because of the investment that we have been able to make in increasing and expanding the use of third-party data in the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re able to process over 90% of refunds for taxpayers not selected for verification within 72 hours through our fraud risk detection AI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We direct high-risk taxpayers \u2013 for whom we suspect there may be a fraudulent or impermissible refund \u2013 for further verification,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To complete auto-assessments accurately, SARS harvested nearly 150 million third-party data records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This information was then processed using artificial intelligence and enhanced machine learning algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are extremely reliant on employers, banks and other third-party information providers to provide us with accurate data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The integrity of the entire value chain of data is important. We have worked extremely hard this past year with large institutions and entities to improve the accuracy of bulk data submissions,” said Kieswetter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe appreciate the partnerships with all third-party data providers that enable a seamless experience for taxpayers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Inaccurate data, or late data, causes downstream difficulties and unnecessary delays and frustrations for taxpayers,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSARS uses sophisticated graph database technology to decipher billions and billions of rows of data that allows us to compose a single entity view of a taxpayer, and this, in turn, allows us to produce an assessment outcome as well as conduct the necessary risk detection through the artificial intelligence methodologies,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kieswetter further noted that the AI tool used by SARS to detect fraud has saved the fiscus billions of Rands in fraudulent refunds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year alone, this fraud detection capability prevented almost R100 billion of impermissible PIT and VAT [Personal Income Tax and Value Added Tax] refunds from being paid out and lost to the fiscus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n