The first tangible evidence emerged that the Tax Man’s newly appointed army of 1 700 tax debt collectors will hit the ground running within the next few weeks after completing their initial training and attending workshops on the task ahead.

New debt collectors at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) are excitedly sharing the news of starting new positions and videos of training workshops on social media, allowing brief glimpses into the inner workings. 

In e-mail correspondence with the new recruits, Sars requested documentation such as IDs, and proof of matric and other qualifications. 

Some appointees indicated they have previously applied for jobs at Sars and their names were still on the system when the revenue authority approached them. The new employees have been contracted for a period of three years. 

This ties in with Sars’s major special initiative, believed to be known internally as Project AmaBillions, to collect R70-billion in undisputed tax debt over the next three years. 

While Sars has yet to officially confirm the AmaBillions name as first reported by Tax Consulting South Africa in May 2025, it seems the project is now in motion.

Sars Confirms Training of New Recruits 

In a recent interview on 702, Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said that R1-billion in additional funding from National Treasury will be used in the current financial year to support the hiring of 1 700 additional staff members over the next three months.

Kieswetter explained that Sars had made the case to the Minister of Finance about a large stock of undisputed debt Sars believed could, with extra resources and efforts, be recovered to help plug the fiscal gap. 

To prepare the new recruits, Sars will provide training on the Tax Administration Act to ensure the new employees understand both the scope of their legal authority and the tools available to them. Initial training is expected to take about a month, followed by on-the-job training, he told 702. 

This timeline means the first wave of collecting undisputed tax debt could begin within 6 weeks. As the interview took place about two weeks ago, it signals that the campaign is fast gaining momentum.

Building on Previous Success 

During the revenue collection announcement on 1 April 2025, the Commissioner highlighted the success of a R1-billion pilot Recovery Project implemented in the previous financial year. This initiative involved the ring-fencing of nearly 1 000 Sars personnel dedicated to tax debt collection, verifications, and audits. They finalised more than 1 million cases, resulting in an additional R46-billion collected for the fiscus.

“Based on this we will launch a focused recovery programme,” Kieswetter stated at the time.

Gentle Nudging Proving Effective

The Commissioner noted that during the Recovery Project Sars observed the effectiveness in nudging taxpayers who owe taxes. Often, all it takes is a reminder, such as a phone call or SMS, to prompt payment.

“Many taxpayers appreciate this gentle approach,” Kieswetter said during the radio interview.

Sars is on record that should these friendly reminders not yield the desired result, it will escalate its enforcement. This includes appointing third party such as banks to recover debt, applying for civil judgment, and eventually reverting to freezing bank accounts or seizing assets.  

Relief Measures for Taxpayers in Arrears

Jashwin Baijoo, Associate Director and Head of Strategic Engagement & Compliance at Tax Consulting South Africa, says small debts may be low hanging fruit where small nudges will get the job done, but larger debts or potential tax avoidance cases typically require skilled resources and often legal intervention on both sides.

He says one potential relief option is a Deferral of Payment arrangement. This allows taxpayers to pay the full tax debt to Sars in monthly instalments, though it does not reduce the tax liability.

According to Kieswetter Sars saw a threefold increase in applications for deferred payment arrangements in the last 12 months compared to what was the case historically. 

Further to this, Sars offers a Compromise of Tax Debt, a solution enabling individual or corporate taxpayers to enter into an agreement with Sars to permanently write-off of interest and penalties, as well as potentially reducing the capital amount owed to Sars. 

Taxpayers who have outstanding tax debt or want to rectify historical non-compliance by means of voluntarily approaching Sars, should consult qualified tax professionals and a tax attorney when it comes to matters involving Sars.

Written by Tax Consulting SA