SARS commissioner to stay on for smooth transition of power

JOHANNESBURG - The outgoing commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, Edward Kieswetter, has agreed to stay on until after the end of April when his successor will take the reins.

This after President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed to extend his tenure to allow for a smooth transition of power. Kieswetter has been at the helm of Sars since 1 May 2019.

Ramaphosa appointed Kieswetter in March 2019 in terms of Section 6 of the South African Revenue Service Act for a five-year term.

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Kieswetter endeavored to modernise processes at the tax collecting authority by streamlining eFiling and MobiApp platforms.

His efforts seemed to pay off as the compliance rate increased substantially in the last financial year.

Sars also reported that 93 percent of returns were processed in just five seconds while 79 percent of refunds were processed within 72 hours.