Johannesburg – South Africa Revenue Services (SARS) has announced its record gross revenue collection of R2.303 trillion large for fiscal year 2024/25.
Despite the economic headwinds, SARS paid R447.7 billion in refunds, boosting the highest economic activity ever.
The net collection reached R1.855 trillion, exceeding R8.8 billion, exceeding the revised estimate.
Important highlights
Tax to GDP ratio: 24.8%, a signal of strong financial health. Tax Buoyancy: 1.20, showing revenue growth above GDP. Refund Fraud Prevention: SARS blocked R146.7 billion with fraudulent claims.
SARS Commissioner Edward Keyswetter said: “I am pleased that R447.7 billion returned to taxpayers' hands will be good for the economy. But I am deeply concerned about the ever-present threat of refund fraud and system abuse.”
Sector Performance
Personal Income Tax (PIT): Support for financial and community sector payments and 2-pot withdrawals (R12.9 billion vs R5 billion) increased 12.6% (R81.8 billion). Company Income Tax (CIT): Increased by 2.1% (R6.5 billion) driven by profits in the financial sector, but mining declined. VAT: Net Collections rose 2.3% (R10.5 billion) with a refund of R365.5 billion (growth of 6.6%). R127.4 billion went to SMMES.
Compliance and enforcement
SARS leverages AI, data analytics, and machine learning to enhance compliance and generates R301.5 billion through interventions that include:
94 billion since 3.7 million debt cases were resolved. R100 billion from 1.7 million AI-driven verification. R59 billion from 230,000 audits. R300 billion from a 198 syndicated crime survey.
Future plans
With an additional R7.5 billion allocated by Finance Minister Enoch Godonwana, the SARS is:
It will strengthen enforcement of illegal trade, money laundering and cybercrime. Modernize your tax and customs systems. We have expanded the automatic rating, which saw 98% of the total intake in 2024/25.
Kieswetter concluded:
“We're working hard forever to make your experience with SARS simple and seamless.”
SARS continues to work on voluntary compliance, expanding tax base and developing fiscal citizenship to support South Africa's economic growth.
SARS is the foundation of our precious democracy
Since its founding, it has collected over R23.3 trillion to help build a competent state that caters to everyone.
This success is closely related to efficient and effective revenue management, which removes the legal mission of collecting all revenue for the finances, promoting compliance and promoting legitimate trade.
“As an organization, everything we do is about the transformational impact we have on people's lives, and we call it a 'higher purpose'.
“We are on the path to reimagining an organization into smart, modern sars that can be trusted and praised by everyone, as encapsulated in our vision 2025-2030.”
*This article was first published in sister publication techfinancials.co.za
