SARS Request for Remission: What Evidence Strengthens an Administrative-Penalty Case?
A Request for Remission should not start with a generic plea to cancel the penalty. A stronger working file identifies the exact non-compliance, shows what has been corrected, explains the circumstances that prevented timely compliance and ties the evidence back to the penalty periods and transactions SARS is being asked to reconsider.
A remission request needs more than the words ‘please waive the penalty’.
Current SARS guidance requires the taxpayer to explain the circumstances that prevented compliance and identify the relevant periods and amounts. SARS also refers to the transaction code on the penalty assessment letter where applicable.
Circumstances
Explain what specifically prevented the company from meeting the obligation on time.
Periods
Identify each tax period or filing period connected to the penalties being addressed.
Amounts
Reconcile the penalty amounts rather than referring only to a total balance.
Transaction detail
Keep the AP34 and transaction references needed to trace the request to the SARS account.
The explanation should be capable of being checked against the documents.
The exact evidence changes with the facts. The objective is to leave a file that shows what SARS charged, what prevented compliance, what the company did next and what remains unresolved.
Penalty notices and transaction history
Keep the AP34 notices, penalty periods, transaction numbers and current penalty statement together so the request can be tied to the exact amounts being challenged.
A dated non-compliance chronology
Record what obligation was missed, when it became outstanding, when the company became aware of it, what prevented compliance and what corrective action followed.
Proof of the circumstances relied on
Where the explanation depends on an identifiable event, retain documents that make the event verifiable rather than relying on an unsupported narrative.
Proof that the non-compliance was remedied
Keep submission confirmations, filed returns, corrected registrations or other evidence showing that the underlying failure has been addressed where this is required or relevant.
Accounting and tax support
Retain the reconciliations, financial records and schedules needed to show why an old return could or could not be completed at a particular point in time.
SARS correspondence and case references
Keep final demands, letters, case numbers and prior submissions in one sequence so the recovery file shows what SARS communicated and how the company responded.
Dates often make the difference between a story and an evidence trail.
A practical remission file should make the sequence easy to follow: filing due date, event causing the failure, SARS notice, discovery date, corrective action, filing date and remission submission.
This chronology is especially useful where several monthly penalties have accumulated. It helps the company separate the original filing failure from later periods, identify when the problem was remedied and match the supporting documents to the explanation being made.
Working-paper test
Could someone who was not involved understand the case from the file alone?
If the answer is no, the remission submission is probably relying too heavily on memory, assumptions or explanations that are not yet supported by the records.
Build the Request for Remission after the penalty account and underlying filing position are understood.
The sequence is not identical for every taxpayer, but this operating logic prevents the business from confusing a remission request with the wider compliance recovery.
Identify
Confirm the exact outstanding returns, penalty periods, AP34 transactions and other SARS issues before drafting a remission request.
Remedy
Submit the outstanding return or correct the underlying non-compliance where the records and current process allow it, so avoidable recurrence is stopped.
Reconcile
Recheck the penalty account after corrective action and separate administrative penalties from tax, interest and other debt.
Evidence
Build the chronology and supporting documents around the actual circumstances that prevented timely compliance.
Request
Submit the Request for Remission with the required periods, amounts, reasons and transaction information through the applicable SARS channel.
Track
Monitor the SARS outcome and decide whether payment, a debt arrangement, objection or further specialist action is required.
Why apparently reasonable remission requests can still be poorly supported.
These are practical file-quality problems rather than predictions about how SARS will decide a particular case.
The return is still outstanding
The business asks SARS to remove the penalty but leaves the underlying non-compliance unresolved, allowing the penalty problem to continue.
The reason is generic
The request says the company forgot, was busy or had cash-flow pressure without explaining the actual filing failure and why it occurred.
No dates are tied to the explanation
A broad story is provided without a chronology showing when the event happened, when the filing was due and when the position was corrected.
The documents do not support the story
The explanation depends on a system failure, illness, disaster, records problem or another event but no supporting evidence is retained.
All charges are treated as one balance
Tax, interest, fixed administrative penalties and other SARS transactions are mixed together instead of being reconciled to the correct process.
Remission is assumed to be automatic
The company acts as if correcting the return guarantees cancellation even though SARS considers remission against the applicable law, facts and evidence.
Use the specialist article for the remission file, then connect the wider compliance problem behind it.
Administrative Penalties
Review recurring AP34 penalties, outstanding returns and the full penalty-recovery pathway.
SARS Compliance Recovery
Resolve the wider returns, debt, registrations and Tax Compliance Status issues around the penalty.
Tax Services
Move from recovery into a controlled recurring corporate-tax and provisional-tax process.
Accounting Records
Repair the underlying accounting information where old returns cannot be completed reliably.
What companies usually want to know about Requests for Remission.
What is a SARS Request for Remission?
A Request for Remission is the SARS process used to ask for a non-compliance penalty to be remitted in whole or in part. SARS requires the taxpayer to explain the circumstances that prevented compliance and to identify the relevant periods and amounts. The outcome remains SARS's decision.
Should the outstanding return be filed before requesting remission?
SARS advises taxpayers to submit outstanding returns to stop further recurring administrative penalties. Whether a particular remission request should be submitted before or after another corrective step depends on the taxpayer's facts and the current SARS process, but the underlying non-compliance should not simply be ignored while the penalty is disputed.
What information should a Request for Remission contain?
Current SARS guidance says the request should include the circumstances that prevented compliance, the relevant periods and amounts, and the transaction code shown on the penalty assessment letter where applicable. A practical submission should also be supported by a clear chronology and documents that make those circumstances verifiable.
Does filing the outstanding return guarantee remission?
No. Correcting the non-compliance is important, but it does not guarantee that SARS will remit the penalty. SARS considers remission under the applicable rules and on the specific facts presented.
What if SARS only partly allows or refuses the remission request?
SARS states that a taxpayer may object to a disallowed or partially allowed remission decision and may later appeal if still aggrieved after the objection outcome. The applicable notice, time limits and dispute route should be checked for the specific case before action is taken.
Can LBA guarantee that SARS will cancel the administrative penalties?
No. LBA can help diagnose the non-compliance, reconcile the penalty account, repair outstanding filings, organise the evidence and prepare a supported Request for Remission. SARS alone decides whether a penalty is remitted.
Official SARS references
This article is a practical accounting and compliance overview, not a promise of remission or a substitute for reviewing the current SARS process and the taxpayer's specific facts. The official SARS guidance below should be checked when preparing an actual submission.
SARS — Request for Remission
Current SARS guidance on the information required, submission channels and the route after a partial or unsuccessful remission decision.
SARS — Administrative Penalty
Current guidance on recurring administrative penalties, outstanding returns, AP34 notices and the remission/dispute pathway.
Start with the penalty transactions, outstanding returns and evidence — not with a generic remission request.
LBA can review the SARS account, reconcile the AP34 penalties, identify the underlying filing gaps and organise a supported recovery or remission file around the company's actual facts. SARS decides the outcome of any remission or dispute.