Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan told reporters in Pretoria on Monday there would be consequences, including legal processes and penalties, for people who did not comply with their tax obligations.

"In order for government to deliver services, in order for the poor people in South Africa to benefit from taxes paid by South Africans, we are trying to generate values in our society, the right kind values which say we must declare honestly what we earn.

"These are values of solidarity, that we need to be mindful of others as well," he said.

The tax season is the period in which individuals and trusts must submit their income tax returns for the year. This year's season starts on July 1.

"There are significant numbers of... people who do not quite declare honestly. Those who choose to be non-compliant must bear the brunt of enforcement, which is a crucial part of keeping social balances right in any society around us," said Gordhan.

On Monday, Sars commissioner Oupa Magashula unveiled several technological innovations to make filing easier this year.

"We have an eFiling app (application) for tablets, iPads and smartphones. We have developed a mobi site for cellphone users."

He said about 12 million individual taxpayers contributed a total of R251.6 billion through personal tax income tax in the last year. This amounted to 33,8 percent of the country's total revenue collection.

By 11 pm on Sunday, 18,031 taxpayers had filed their returns via eFiling, said Magashula.