The South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT) welcomes the Office of the Tax Ombud’s draft report on alleged SARS eFiling profile hijacking and supports its efforts to address this persistent issue affecting tax practitioners. SAIT recommends that the Ombud’s mandate explicitly include practitioners in their professional capacity and calls for enhanced digital security through stronger authentication, in-app verification, and device-linking features. It cautions against blanket holds on refunds, advocating instead for risk-based monitoring, and urges faster recovery of hijacked profiles and automatic deadline extensions for affected taxpayers. SAIT also supports legislative amendments to protect victims of fraud, clearer reimbursement criteria, and better coordination between SARS, banks, and CIPC. The submission further highlights a newly emerging, highly sophisticated hijacking method that may involve internal system compromise, emphasizing the need for urgent investigation and strengthened internal controls.
READ MORE
