NSFAS gets help from Sars

LOUISE FLANAGAN|Published

583 21.01.2015 The Wits University representative council together with the entire student populous sings and dances during a mass meeting outside the wits Senate House. SASCO Wits were addressing the on going NSFAS crisis were the students are facing numerous constraints about the registration yesterday. 583 21.01.2015 The Wits University representative council together with the entire student populous sings and dances during a mass meeting outside the wits Senate House. SASCO Wits were addressing the on going NSFAS crisis were the students are facing numerous constraints about the registration yesterday.

Johannesburg - Sars has for years been able to give NSFAS a little help, but a change in the rules was needed to provided a little more.

On Friday, the South African Revenue Service issued a notice allowing its officials to hand over certain taxpayer information to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), aimed at helping NSFAS track down former students who default on their loans.

“Given the need for additional information, especially in cases of self-employed persons, it was agreed to include NSFAS in the provisions of section 70(4) of the Tax Administration Act, which allows Sars to also provide other non-financial information such as the physical and postal addresses and other contact details,” said Sars spokesman Sandile Memela.

Under the Tax Administration Act, Sars has previously been able to give NSFAS some help. Memela said Sars had previously provided information to NSFAS under section 70(2)(b) of the act, which stipulates that a senior Sars official may disclose to the chair of the NSFAS board the name and address of the employer of those to whom a loan or bursary was granted by NSFAS.

In a reply to Parliament dated April 1 this year, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande indicated that Sars was providing NSFAS with such information. “NSFAS becomes aware of the income status of debtors when they are registered as taxpayers. This information is provided to NSFAS by Sars and is used to make contact with non-paying debtors. Of the 247 913 students referred to above, 190 284 (77 percent) students are registered as taxpayers with Sars,” Nzimande told Parliament in his reply to a question from the DA.

Last week’s notice extends the information provided, adding the provisions of section 70(4), which includes taxpayers’ names, identity numbers, contact details and their employers’ details.

NSFAS spokesman Kagisho Mamabolo said students owed up to R21.3bn, though the realistic value was R6.1bn. "Working with state agencies would help us track down defaulting debtors," he said.