Electronic tax filing goes live
Pauline Dikuelo | Friday June 20, 2014 18:18
In revealing this, BURS principal communications officer, Matshediso Pule said the pilot process that was conducted on selected number of taxpayers was successful.
“There was no particular criteria that informed the selection process in the pilot project, hence there was a combination of the small, medium and large taxpayers who formed part of the testing process,” said Pule.
She said that they were satisfied with the project, which she referred to as successful as they now have rolled it out. “The e-service has been very effective which is evidenced by the number of taxpayers using the service which is increasing on a monthly basis,” she said.
As to how they are going to tackle the Internet connectivity and access problems, Pule said BURS has provided computers at its regional offices countrywide to cater for those who do not have Internet access.
“The introduction of e-services has always been a strategic initiative of BURS. We believe it will assist BURS to improve its responsiveness to customer needs and enhance efficiency within BURS as well as at regional and inland offices,” she said.
The BURS e-services was introduced last year to help improve the country’s tax collection system and enhance efficiency within BURS. Its first phase consisted of filling of VAT returns and settlement of VAT liabilities after which the filling of other tax types will be rolled out after the success of this.
Once registered for e-service, taxpayers can view submitted vat returns, income tax notice of assessment, withholding (WHT) debit acknowledgement, customer assessment notice, and tax compliance summary report online. The E-service also enables taxpayers to submit VAT returns electronically.
For companies, an individual within the organisation should register as a super user who is able to grant access to other users within the organisation. The super user has to be a Botswana resident.