South Africans whose eFiling accounts are hacked still forced to pay SARS

• South African taxpayers who claim that their SARS eFiling accounts have been compromised may still face tax bills and penalties if they cannot prove that their accounts were accessed without authorisation.
• The Tax Court dismissed a company’s appeal against the disallowance of R6.37 million in input tax deductions after it argued that unknown third parties had used its eFiling profile to submit fraudulent VAT returns.
• The court upheld a 150% understatement penalty imposed by SARS for intentional tax evasion.