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How do I track or cancel a complaint submitted to SARS?
How do I track or cancel a complaint submitted to SARS?
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Direct answer
After a valid SARS eFiling complaint is submitted, use the Complaint Management Work Page to record its case number, status and status date. SARS provides a Query Complaint Status option on that page. If you need to withdraw the complaint, use Cancel Complaint, give a reason or comment, and retain proof because the status first becomes Cancellation Requested and is only later updated to Cancelled after processing.
Do not treat a status screen or cancellation request as an answer to the underlying tax matter. A complaint may concern service, missing documents or an unresolved process. An assessment, payment demand, return deadline or tax dispute normally remains subject to its own current SARS notice and process.
What this means in practice
The case number is the key record to preserve. SARS says a complaint work page shows a summary including form type, submission date, update details, complaint status, status date and case number. Save a screenshot or PDF after submission, then save any letters or notifications displayed on the work page. It is much easier to follow up with a complete record than by sending a second form that could be rejected as a repeat complaint.
Check whether you are looking at a saved form, a submitted complaint or a complaint in history. A saved form can be opened and deleted before it is submitted. A submitted complaint is handled through the work page and history. SARS says that if a previous complaint has already been submitted, a new submission may be rejected where repeat-call escalation applies. That is a reason to query the existing case first.
Cancellation should be deliberate. It may be suitable if the wrong taxpayer was selected, a duplicate complaint was submitted, the issue has genuinely been resolved, or the complainant has a clear reason to withdraw it. It is not a shortcut to correct a return, replace an objection or avoid a response obligation. Write a factual reason, save the request confirmation and check that SARS processes it.
Step-by-step
- Log in to the eFiling portfolio used for the complaint. If acting for someone else, verify that the correct taxpayer is selected.
- Open Complaints History or the Complaint Management Work Page. Record the case number, submission date, status and status date before doing anything else.
- Open the relevant form and save copies of letters, the CM01, uploaded-document records and previous correspondence. Compare the case number with your own file.
- Use Query Complaint Status where you want a status update. Record the result and date, rather than relying on memory of the screen.
- If SARS has requested documents, upload only the records relevant to that request and use the submission confirmation. SARS's guide lists the allowed file types and upload limits for this function.
- If cancellation is appropriate, choose Cancel Complaint, enter a clear reason or comment, and continue through the warning prompt.
- Confirm that the work-page status becomes Cancellation Requested. Check later whether it has updated to Cancelled, and preserve the history entry.
- Continue separately with any assessment, return, payment or document deadline shown in SARS correspondence.
Documents and records to keep
- Complaint case number, CM01 and the initial submission confirmation.
- Status screenshots, notifications and correspondence.
- Copies and submission proof for any supporting documents.
- Cancellation reason, confirmation and final status if cancellation was requested.
Maintain a dated chronology containing each action, SARS reference, communication and result. It should say whether a document was merely uploaded, successfully submitted, requested by SARS or still awaiting processing. This distinction helps you respond accurately if a service problem persists.
Important limits and exceptions
Cancellation is a request, not an immediate outcome. SARS says the status is updated to Cancellation Requested and later to Cancelled once processing is complete. Keep the complaint open in your records until the history or work page confirms the result. Do not assume it has been cancelled merely because you clicked through the form.
Tracking a complaint also does not freeze other requirements. It does not correct an assessment, settle a payment, amend a return or replace a formal tax dispute. If there is a deadline in a SARS notice, respond to that notice using the correct process. Where a complaint and a statutory step overlap, obtain advice rather than delaying one route for the other.
When to get tailored advice
Get tailored advice if you are unsure whether cancelling will affect another remedy, the complaint concerns an assessment or final demand, the matter includes missing records or confidentiality risk, or a material payment is due. Act promptly if a SARS notice contains a formal date.
TaxProof can help organise the case file and identify the questions that require a specialist response. It cannot make SARS cancel a complaint or decide the tax outcome.