Guide to book an appointment at a SARS branch

Summary

The purpose of this Webpage is to assist registered taxpayers, representatives and tax practitioners to book a virtual appointment with SARS using the online eBooking form.

Introduction

The SARS Branch eBooking system enables you to request a video or telephonic engagement with SARS if you require our assistance. This is part of our drive to improve our service to you:

For virtual appointments:
- If you choose a telephonic engagement, a SARS official will call you on the date and time that you choose on the booking form.
- If you choose a video engagement (applicable to individuals, trusts, companies, representatives and tax practitioners only), a SARS official will email a link to you to join a video meeting on the date and time that you choose on the booking form. Microsoft Teams is the preferred video conferencing tool used by SARS.
Depending on demand, temporary pop-up branches and Mobile Tax Units (MTU’s) will be created for specific dates and durations to service taxpayers at venues such as malls, shopping centres, etc. The temporary pop-up branches and MTU’s will cater for scheduled walk-ins (i.e. ebooking appointments) and unscheduled walk-ins.
Note: if you do not have access to the internet you can use one of the following options to arrange an appointment with SARS:
- Call the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277. A SARS official will book the appointment on your behalf.
- Send an SMS to 47277 (iSARS) with the information and format described below:
  - BOOKING (Space) Your ID number or Passport number or Asylum number
  - E.g. Booking 1234567890123 OR Booking A029999998
  - A SARS official will call you back to book the appointment on your behalf
  - This SMS service is only available to taxpayers/registered representatives who are registered for Personal Income Tax (PIT). This service is not available to tax practitioners.

Important information when using this service

You must have a valid tax reference number to make a booking.
- The following will be accepted:
  - Personal income tax refence numbers
  - Company income tax reference number
  - PAYE reference number
  - VAT reference number
- If you do not have a personal income tax number, you can register as an eFiler and SARS will automatically register you for personal income tax and allocate a tax reference number.
Bookings using customs and excise client numbers are not accommodated at this stage.

The eBooking service is not offered to taxpayers registered at the following specialised units in SARS:
- Large Business
- High Net Worth Individual
- Restricted Taxpayer Unit
Non-South African’s will be allowed to make a booking using foreign passport numbers. South African citizens must use their identity numbers when making a booking.
and time that:
- Is more than 60 days in advance from the current date; or
- Earlier than 48 hours from the current date; or
- Falls on a public holiday; or
- Falls on a weekend (unless otherwise stated by SARS).
The online calendar will display available appointments for the next 60 days. You can only book one appointment at a time. This is to ensure that all taxpayers get a fair chance to make an eBooking.

- Tax Practitioners will be allowed to make multiple bookings, however only one active booking will be allowed per taxpayer.

If a booking is made after 4pm on a Thursday or from a Friday to Sunday, the system will display the next available appointments from the following Tuesday.
There may be instances where the timeslot that is most convenient for you is not available. This will occur when that slot has already been fully booked by other taxpayers.
The following appointment methods are available for you to interact with SARS:
- Video – this option is only applicable to:
  - Individuals
  - Tax practitioners
  - Company/trust/entity representatives
- Telephonic Engagement – this option is applicable to:
  - Individuals
  - Tax practitioners (for ITR12 return submission only)
  - Company/trust/entity representatives
- Walk-ins at temporary Pop-up Branches and Mobile Tax Units
Virtual appointments for submission of individual income tax returns (ITR12s) are limited to telephonic engagements only.
Note: If you book a video or telephonic engagement with us, please do not walk into a branch office on the day of your appointment. We will contact you via Microsoft Teams or telephonically on the day of your virtual appointment
For video appointments, you require internet connectivity and a device with a camera (e.g. a smartphone with a camera or computer with a webcam) to engage with a SARS official.
An ‘eBooking case number’ will be allocated for each appointment made.
You will be required to upload supporting documents to book an appointment. After you receive confirmation of your appointment, you can use the ‘SARS Online Query System’ to upload any additional supporting documents related to the reason for your appointment
- To view the type of supporting documents applicable to the various appointment reasons:
  - Log on to the SARS website
  - Select ‘Contact Us’
  - Select ‘Make an Appointment’
  - Click on the link ‘Please see the required supporting documents for your specific appointment here’
  - Please note: this list is not exhaustive. SARS may request additional information from you.
- To upload supporting documents:
  - Log on to the SARS website
  - Select ‘Contact Us’
  - Select ‘Submit Supporting Documents’
  - Complete the taxpayer information in the applicable fields
  - In the ‘case number’ field insert the eBooking case number that you received for your appointment.
Note: You are also required to upload the following additional information for authentication. This is intended for your protection and will help us verify if we are transacting with the authorised person on the day of the appointment: Examples

Individuals	Tax Practitioners	Representatives
Copy of ID	Copy of the tax practitioner’s ID Copy of the taxpayer’s ID Power of attorney	Copy of the representative’s ID Copy of the taxpayer’s ID Copy of power of attorney

The Requestor can cancel a booking prior to the appointment date and time and request a new appointment date and time.
we will send you an email/SMS just to remind you of the appointment you scheduled.
On the day of your appointment:
- Ensure that you have all the necessary documentation with you
- If you booked an appointment for a telephonic engagement, ensure that you are available to answer the call from SARS at the time you selected
- If you booked a video appointment, ensure that you join the video meeting at the time you selected
- If you fail to honour the booking, you will forfeit your appointment and will have to make a new eBooking
- You will be assisted by the next available SARS consultant. You will not be able to request assistance from a specific consultant.

This service is compatible with the following browsers:
- Chrome
- Internet Explorer – IE11 or higher versions
- FireFox
- Edge
- Safari

Easy steps to book an appointment

You can also access the eBooking form via:
- eFiling
- The SARS MobiApp
- The SARS website (sars.gov.za). Select the following:
  - ‘Contact Us’
  - ‘Make an Appointment’
  - Click on the link to open the booking form.

Follow the steps described in the sections below to complete the form.

Complete Requestor Details

Please mark the checkbox on the form to indicate if the person who will be attending the session is hearing impaired.

Requestor Types

The eBooking form will be customised according to the options selected in this section.
- ‘Individual’:
  - Indicate if you are an individual making a booking for yourself
- SMME Sole Proprietor’:
  - - Select ‘Yes’ if you are a Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Sole Proprietor.
    - If you want to book an appointment on behalf of an SMME, please refer to the section ‘Requestor Type : Tax Practitioner
- ‘Tax Practitioner’:
  - Indicate if you are a registered tax practitioner making a booking on behalf of a company, trust or individual
- Representative:
  - Indicate if you are the registered representative making a booking on behalf of a company or trust or individual.

Note: The way in which the fields are completed on the form will differ for individuals, registered representatives and tax practitioners (see steps below).

ID Types

The identification details completed on the form will be used for authentication.
The ID Types described below can be selected on the eBooking form.’
‘South African ID Number’
- If you are a South African, insert your ID Number ‘
‘Asylum Seeker Number’
- Insert your Asylum Number.
‘Passport Number’
- If you are not a South African, insert your foreign passport number
- ‘Passport Date of Issue’
  - This field will be activated when a passport number is entered
  - Click on the dropdown arrow and select the passport date of issue from the online calendar
  - A permit number may also be inserted in this field.
- ‘Passport Country of Issue’
  - This field will be activated when a passport number/permit number is entered
  - Select the country of issue from the dropdown menu.

Requestor Type: Individual

If you are an individual booking an appointment for yourself, select the applicable ‘ID Type’ from the dropdown menu.
‘Tax Reference Number’
- If you entered a passport number or a South African ID number, SARS will use this number to automatically retrieve your tax reference number.
- If the ID type is ‘Asylum Seeker Number’ please enter the tax reference number as well.

‘Email Address’
- Insert your email address.
‘Mobile number’
- Insert your mobile number.
‘Alternative Number’
- Please capture an alternate contact number, for us to contact you on the day of the appointment, should your mobile number be unavailable.

Requestor Type : SMME Sole Proprietor

If you are SMME Sole Proprietor select the applicable ‘ID Type’ from the dropdown menu.
‘Tax Reference Number’
- If you completed a passport number or a South African ID number, SARS will use this number to automatically retrieve your tax reference number.
- If the ID type is ‘Asylum Seeker Number’ please complete the tax reference number field.
‘Email Address’
- Insert your email address.
‘Mobile number’
- Insert your mobile number.
‘Alternative Number’
- Please insert an alternate contact for us to contact you on the day of appointment, should your mobile number be unavailable

Requestor Type : Representative

‘Representative Type’:
- If you are the registered representative appointed with full rights to act on behalf of the entity, select ‘Registered Representative’ from the drop-down list and complete the ‘ID Type.’
- If you have once-off permission to represent the entity, select ‘Once-Off Mandate’ from the drop-down list and complete your:
  - ‘Title’
  - ‘Name’
  - ‘Surname’
  - ‘ID Type’
Select the ‘Entity Type’ that you are representing and complete the following information:
For ‘Individual’:
- ‘ID Type’
For ‘Company’:
- ‘Company Registration Number’
For ‘Trust’:
- ‘Trust Type’
  - Inter-vivos Trust
  - Testamentary Trust
  - Foreign Trust (Non-Resident Trust)
  - Collective Investment Schemes in Securities
  - Special Trust Type A – Inter-vivos
  - Special Trust Type A – Testamentary
  - Special Trust Type B – Testamentary
- ‘Trust Registration Number’

‘Tax Reference Number’

- If the entity type is ‘Individual’ and the ID type is ‘Asylum Seeker Number’ please complete the tax reference number field.
- If the entity type is ‘Trust’ please complete the income tax reference number field
- For all other entity and ID types, SARS will use the passport number/South African ID number/company registration number to retrieve the tax reference number.

‘Will the Representative attend the appointment?’

If ‘No’, complete the ‘ID Type’ and details of the ‘Delegated Representative who will attend the appointment’
Note: this question does not apply to representatives with a once-off mandate.

‘Email Address’
- Insert the email address of the representative/delegated representative who will attend the appointment.
‘Mobile number’

- Insert the mobile number of the representative/delegated representative who will attend the appointment.

‘Alternative Number’
- Please insert an alternate contact for us to contact you on the day of appointment, should the above mobile number be unavailable.

Requestor Type: Tax Practitioner

If you are a tax practitioner making a booking for your client, complete the information described below.

‘Tax Practitioner Number’

- Insert your active practitioner number
- The format should be ‘PR’ followed by 7 numeric values (e.g. PR1234567).
Select the applicable ‘ID Type’ from the dropdown.

Select the ‘Entity Type’ that you are representing and complete the following:
- For ‘Individual’:
  - ‘ID Type’
- For ‘Company’:
  - ‘Company Registration Number’

- For ‘Trust’:
  - ‘Trust Registration Number’
  - ‘Trust Type’
    - Inter-vivos Trust
    - Testamentary Trust
    - Foreign Trust (Non-Resident Trust)
    - Collective Investment Schemes in Securities
    - Special Trust Type A – Inter-vivos
    - Special Trust Type A – Testamentary
    - Special Trust Type B – Testamentary
- For ‘SMME’:
  - Indicate the ‘SMME Type’
    - Sole Proprietor
    - Company
- Complete the ‘ID Type’ or ‘Company Registration Number’

‘Tax Reference Number’

- If the entity type is ‘Individual’ and the ID type is ‘Asylum Seeker Number’ please complete the tax reference number field.
- If the entity type is ‘SMME-Sole Proprietor’ and the ID type is ‘Asylum Seeker Number’ please complete the tax reference number field.
- If the entity type is ‘Trust’ please complete the income tax reference number field.
- For all other entity and ID types, SARS will use the passport number/South African ID number//company registration number to retrieve the tax reference number.

‘Will the Tax Practitioner attend the appointment?’
- If ‘No’, complete the ‘ID Type’ information for the ‘Delegated Representative who will attend the appointment’.
‘Email Address’
- Insert the email address of the tax practitioner/delegated representative who will attend the appointment’.
‘Mobile number’
- Insert the mobile number of the tax practitioner/delegated representative who will attend the appointment’.
‘Alternative Number’
- Please insert an alternate contact for us to contact you on the day of appointment, should the above mobile number be unavailable.

Captcha Screen

To ensure that the booking is initiated by a human and not a machine/computer, you are required to insert a security code (also known as a CAPTCHA code).
Type in the letters that appear on your screen.
- If you cannot see the letters clearly, click on the refresh icon to get a new image
- If your device enables sound to be played, click on the audio icon, wait for the sound to play and type in the letters that you hear.

Once the CAPTCHA function has successfully authenticated you as a valid user, the system will allow you to continue with the booking.

Create New eBooking

The ‘Create Booking’ screen will only display if you are allowed to make a new booking for the tax reference number.
If you already have an active booking, please refer to the section on ‘View Existing Booking’

Booking Details

Click on the dropdown list and select an available ‘Booking Type’:
- Telephonic Engagement
- Video
- Walk-in
- Mobile Tax Unit
- Pop-Up Branch
- VAT Registration Accreditation
Select a ‘Province’ and an available ‘Branch’ from the dropdown list (Note: these fields will not display for video and telephonic engagements.
Select the ‘Reason Category’ from the dropdown list.
Select the ‘Reason’ from the dropdown list.
In the ‘Reason Summary’ field you may briefly explain the reason for your appointment (optional). This will help us prepare for your appointment.
‘Select date’ – please select an available date from the online calendar.
‘Select time’ – please select a time from the available slots displayed on the screen.
Once you have completed the required information, click on ‘Next’.

Upload Supporting Documents

The following types of documents are required for an eBooking appointment:
- Supporting documents to authenticate the person who will be attending the appointment
- Supporting documents related to specific eBooking reasons. For more information, please refer to the SARS website.

Supporting Documents Readily Available:

If your documents are available, click on the ‘Upload’ button to load and attach it to your eBooking case. The following document restrictions apply:
- The documents must be in one of the following formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, gif, jpg, jpeg, bmp, png and tiff.
- Documents should not be password protected or encrypted.
- Documents must be not greater than 5MB in size
Click on ‘Complete Booking’.
Note: If you need to submit additional supporting documents after your booking has been confirmed, you can use your booking case reference number to submit the documents electronically through the SARS Online Query System, on the SARS website

Supporting Documents Not Readily Available:

If you do not have the required supporting documents readily available, click on the ‘Upload Later’
The eBooking case number allocated to you will display on the screen and the status of the booking will be ‘Booking Awaiting Supporting Documents’.
You will have 24 hours to upload the supporting documents.
If you do not load the documents within this time, you will lose the time slot reserved for you and the eBooking will be cancelled automatically.

To access your eBooking case before expiry of the 24-hour period:
- Log on to the SARS website and open the eBooking form
- Complete the ‘Requestor Details’Refer to the steps described under ‘Existing eBooking’

eBooking Confirmed

An email and SMS notification will be issued when the eBooking has been confirmed.
A notification will also be sent 48 hours before the eBooking date, to remind you of your upcoming appointment.

Existing eBooking

View Existing eBookings

Log on to the SARS website and open the eBooking form
- Complete the ‘Requestor Details’ section of the form
- Complete the ‘Captcha Screen’ and click on ‘Next’ to view active bookings or incomplete bookings awaiting supporting documents.

To finalise an incomplete eBooking (i.e. in an ‘awaiting supporting documents’ status):
- Click on the ‘Upload’ button to load and attach the documents to your eBooking case.
- Click on ‘Complete Booking’.

Cancel eBooking

Log on to the SARS website and open the eBooking form:

- Complete the ‘Requestor Details’ section of the form
- Complete the ‘Captcha Screen’ and click on ‘Next’
The screen will display your active eBooking
- Click on the delete icon to cancel the eBooking
- A message will pop up for you to confirm the cancellation. Click on the ‘Yes Cancel’ button.

Notifications

You will receive email and SMS notifications related to your eBooking. Below are some examples of the emails:

eBooking Confirmation For Walk-in Appointment

eBooking Confirmation For Virtual Appointment

eBooking Cancelled

Error Messages

This section describes some of the common errors you may encounter during the eBooking process:

The CAPTCHA code inserted does not correspond with the code displayed on the webscreen.

The data you have entered has failed validation. Example: The passport or ID number or company registration cannot be matched to a valid tax reference number.