The SA Revenue Service (Sars) alerted taxpayers of possible delays at branch offices around the country on Thursday.

This was due to “unexpected IT problems which have affected certain taxpayer services during the course of the morning”, said Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay.

He said in a statement that taxpayers would still be able to complete and submit a tax return at branch offices, but the waiting period to get assistance from Sars officials may take longer because of queues.

Lackay said by 10am all taxpayer services at branch offices were fully restored and officials would continue to prioritise their services to taxpayers that are currently waiting in long queues.

Sars said the electronic submission system, eFiling, had not been affected by these delays. However, it appealed to taxpayers to wait until Friday before visiting a Sars branch.

There remained sufficient time for taxpayers to approach Sars for assistance until the deadline of 26 November, Lackay said.

The deadline for taxpayers who wish to submit the manual or paper version of their income tax return is Thursday and could be still be done. Manual returns could be mailed to Sars through the Post Office or dropped at a Sars drop box.

“Sars regrets these unfortunate delays and will assist every taxpayer waiting in a queue as soon as possible.” — Sapa