An empirical investigation into the quality of service in selected branch ofices of South African Revenue Services

Abstract

Through observation of the service protests that took place across the country and which were reported on television, print media and radio, one can suggest that provision of quality service in Government sectors has been a challenge for many years. To define and measure the quality of service that is provided by the service offering institutions is a challenge. The South African Revenue Services (SARS) is no exception in this regard. It is being perceived as one of the better performing institutions of Government, having been awarded top honours in the inaugural Public Service Excellence Awards in October 2009, the Grand Prix Platinum A ward for Best Reputation of all Government departments and State-Owned entities. SARS further received four gold awards for overall effectiveness, service orientation, service orientation in rural areas, as well as best reputation in the Financial Services category (SARS Annual Report, 2009-2010:14). The SERVQUAL scale was used in this study to measure the quality of service that SARS is providing to the taxpayers in its branch offices. A questionnaire was developed based on the elements of SERVQUAL and the Batho Pele Principles, and given to taxpayers who voluntarily agreed to participate in this study at the selected branch offices in September and October 2011 . From the results of this study, it was found that the majority of taxpayers' expectations on tangibles were met and the expectations of the taxpayers in terms of assurance were also met. 55% of the respondents were satisfied that the quality of the treatment that they experienced at the SARS branch offices was aligned with Batho Pele Principles.