SRC introduces online filing for Business Activity Statement (Bas) & Vat Return |15 April 2013

In 2010, SRC introduced the Taxation e-Service for the filing of payroll reports, where employers could submit their monthly employees’ payroll to SRC online.

With the introduction of Vat (Value Added Tax) in January 2013, SRC has found it necessary to extend this facility to allow businesses to file their Vat return online as well as their Business Activity Statement (Bas).

What are the benefits of online filing?
Online filing, through the Taxation e-Service, which is a web based facility, provides two fold benefits. On SRC’s side it means no need for manual data capture, which leaves staff with more time to concentrate on providing better service to the taxpayers. On the taxpayers’ side online filing brings the following benefits:

• It  is cheaper as there is no need for hard copies (printed copies) that need to be submitted to SRC;
• It is more convenient as the business does not have to leave the comfort of its office;
• It is faster as there is no need to stand in queues at the SRC’s office;
• It is more accessible as the service is available 24 hours, seven days a week, hence the business can file at their leisure without having to worry about the opening hours of the SRC’s offices.

Businesses do not have to worry about the security of this facility as it is secure. The e-service gateway is based on:

- Credential: which proves who you are and establishes if you are authorised to use the Taxation e-Service

-Verification and Activation: before an organisation can access the Taxation e-Service, their identities need to be verified after registration.

- Security Levels: Each e-service has a security level to determine its authentication mechanism.

To date there are about 200 businesses that have already registered and are making use of the Taxation e-Service for the online filing of their monthly employees’ payroll. SRC is therefore encouraging all other businesses, especially Vat-registered businesses, to also come on board and take full advantage of the Taxation e-Service and enjoy the benefits the online filing.

How to get access to the Taxation e-Service?
The Taxation e-Service facility is easy to use, where businesses can file their Business Activity Statement (Bas), Vat return and their employees’ payroll online in one go. For non Vat- registered businesses the BAS and the payroll can also be submitted in one go.

This facility is available on the government e-service gateway at https://eservice.egov.sc/egateway/homepage.aspx.
To get access to the Taxation e-Service the business simply needs to get registered by visiting one of the SRC advisory centres on Mahé, Praslin or La Digue. SRC only requires an authorisation letter from the owner of the private entity or the head of organisation for the public sector, the identity card (NIN) of the owner of the business or the person who has been given the authority to register the business/organisation and that person’s e-mail address to which the e-ID, password and access code will be sent to upon registration.

Once the e-ID, password and access code have been received the business can log on to the service and start using the facility.

For more Information
If you require more information about accessing the Taxation e-Service, you can call us on 4293741 or collect a copy of our Taxation e-Service guide at the Advisory Centre, Room 2 -Ground Floor at Oceangate House or download a copy from our website (www.src.gov.sc). An electronic copy can also be forwarded to you by e-mail.