Legal Debt Collectors (Tax) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To enforce the collection of debt cases, escalated debt and/or escalated outstanding returns cases in order to ensure compliance to various tax types.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• National Diploma / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) in Taxation/Accounting AND 2-3 years’ in Debt Management/Collections experience in various tax types of environments, of which 1-2 years at knowledge worker level.

Alternate #

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 5 years’ in Debt Management/Collections expereince in various tax types of environments, of which 1-2 years at knowledge worker level.

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Tax legislation, Legal aspects of collections (Sequestrations, Liquidations, etc), In-depth Analysis of Financial Statements (including ratio analysis and interpretation), Accounting, Negotiation, Risk Management, Companies Act.

Job Outputs

Process

• Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation.
• Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to arrive at decisions.
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs.
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation.
• Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Conduct pre-assessment profile of the taxpayer including related /connected parties/linked entities and determine any risks to SARS
• Determine the collectability of debt, evaluate whether there is risk of dissipation of assets, determine whether taxpayer intends to dispute and recommend whether preservation order and/or caveats should be considered.
• Complete a referral for suspicious activity RSN/STO and follow up with relevant stakeholders.
• Compile collection input report to cases to be presented to the Large Assessments Committees/National Appeals Committees.
• Execute all necessary legal enforcement collection actions within the framework of TAA and Companies Act for all tax types as selected.
• Profile, Analyse, Prepare and present a submission for Suspension of Obligation to Pay/Write-Off to relevant Debt Committee and capture the outcome.
• Analyse, Negotiate, Prepare and Present the requests for a deferral of payment/compromise settlement from the taxpayer to the relevant Debt Committee and notify the taxpayer of the outcome.
• Monitor payments against the deferral/ compromise agreement and secure updates to the journals and closure of case file upon payment in full.
• Conduct physical verification and evaluation of moveable and immovable assets
• Receive and process a motivation in favour or against the business rescue plans and present the case to the relevant committee for approval or refer for Specialisation.
• Monitor legislation compliance throughout the Business Rescue processes and ensure payments received.
• Collate all the necessary documentation for applications for liquidation /sequestration and upload for case coding and refer where necessary for Specialisation.
• Attend all internal and external stakeholder meetings including creditors meetings, attend court proceedings, Tax enquiry etc.
• Reduce the debt book through adjustment and Write-Offs as approved by the relevant Committee.
• Analyse liquidations plans/Sequestrations applications/Business Rescue plans/Trusts/other creditors that can be held liable for the debt and make motivation for further enforcement action.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of specialisation and continuously identify and escalate risks.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Ensure own understanding and adherence to customer service delivery and provide specialist support to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Behavioural competencies

• Honesty and Integrity
• Fairness and Transparency
• Analytical Thinking
• Accountability
• Conceptual Ability
• Organisational Awareness
• Trust
• Respect
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Expertise in Context

Technical competencies

• Debt Management
• Execute, Implement, and Follow-Through
• Negotiating Skills
• Reporting
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Risk and Compliance
• Risk Awareness
• Risk Knowledge
• Efficiency improvement
• Legal Compliance
• Standard Operating Procedures Compliance
• Business Knowledge
• Tax Knowledge 
• Data Collection and Analysis