Notification from SARS for re-submission of 2017 employer annual reconciliation declaration (EMP501) and associated IRP5 /IT3(A) certificates

On the 14th July 2017, The South African Revenue Service (SARS), published a notice to employers that certain EMP501 declarations and IRP5/IT3a certificates would need to be re-submitted via e@syFile. This is due to the implementation of the Retirement Reform requirements, which resulted in a technical error whereby the information code 4582 (being the value of ‘remuneration’ included in allowances and benefits that are travel related) was omitted from the submission file created by the e@syfile Employer and therefore its value was excluded from the IRP5/IT3(a) certificate.

The IRP5’s/IT3(a) certificates that have been effected are those which include the following IRP5 codes:

3701 – Travel allowance

3702 – Reimbursive travel Allowance

3802 – Use of motor vehicle (not operating lease)

3816 – Use of motor vehicle acquired by employers via operating lease

The result of the omission of code 4582 may have an impact on the calculation of the maximum allowable deduction in respect of retirement fund contributions. The inclusion of the code may however not necessarily result in a change in tax liability.

It is vital that all EMP501’s and IRP5/IT3(a) certificates that contain the travel income codes as mentioned above, which were submitted to SARS on any other version of e@syfile earlier than version 6.7.5, should be re-submitted as soon as possible. This will prevent affected employees from submitting the incorrect information and receiving incorrect income tax notices of assessments when their ITR12’s are processed.

Re-submission is done in the following way:

  • Access E@syfile and make a backup of your file
  • Update E@syfile to version 6.7.5
  • Access and perform a full resubmission from the utilities menu on e@syfile
  • Submit to SARS

This procedure will correct the IRP5/IT3(a) and there is no need to recapture any data, the original file is just re-submitted with the inclusion of code 4582.

IRP5/IT3(a) certificates that were submitted via the updated version 6.7.5 of e@syfile were however not effected and no re-submission is required.

For employees who have not as yet submitted their 2017 ITR12’s:

  • Employees will need to wait 24 hours after the successful re-submission of the IRP5/IT3(a) certificates before proceeding with the submission of their tax returns.
  • The employees will need to request their ITR12s via eFiling and then select the Refresh IRP5/IT3(a) data option.
  • This should ensure that the latest version of the IRP5/IT3(a) is pre-populated on the ITR12.
  • Employees can then complete their submissions to SARS.

For employees who have already submitted their 2017 ITR12’s prior to the re-submission:

  • Employees will need to wait for 24 hours after the successful re-submission of the IRP5/IT3(a) certificates
  • Employees who have submitted their 2017 ITR12’s via eFiling will need to submit a Request for Correction via eFiling.
  • Where employees submitted their 2017 ITR12’s at a SARS branch, they will again need to contact the SARS branch for assistance in requesting a Request for Correction.
  • Where eFiling will not allow the taxpayers to submit a Request for Correction, these employees will need to submit a Notice of Objection together with their supporting documentation.

If re-submissions are attended to quickly and efficiently, the impact to the employee should be minimal.

Should you require any assistance in regards to the above, please feel free to contact us.

Michelle van Coppenhagen

Associate |Outsourced Accounting and Payroll, Johannesburg

Also read: An employee's guide to understanding your IRP5