The South African Revenue Service (SARS) received 5.94 million tax returns at the end of the tax season for non-provisional taxpayers‚ SARS acting commissioner Jonas Makwakwa‚ said on Sunday. The number of tax returns‚ for which the deadline was Friday‚ was 11.52% higher than in 2014.Of the 5.94 million returns submitted‚ 4.2 million were from individuals for the 2015 tax year while 1.69 million were outstanding returns for prior years.A total of 99.96% of returns were filed electronically‚ with manual submissions down to less than 2‚000 returns‚ representing 0.04% of total volume.More than 95% of returns submitted were assessed within three seconds and more than 99% within 24 hours‚ Makwakwa said.“SARS paid out 1.82 million refunds to the value of R15 billion – more than 95% of these refunds were paid within 72 hours. “Outstanding return submissions increased with 679‚544 returns‚ representing a growth of 66.43%. This noteworthy increase is ascribed to the success of the administrative penalty regime‚” Makwakwa added.He praised taxpayers for meeting their obligations.“No doubt this is a significant achievement. We are proud of the high level of fiscal citizenship demonstrated by taxpayers. Thank you South Africa‚ this tax season belongs to the millions of taxpayers that submitted their tax returns on time.“It is pleasing that millions of South African citizens agree that meeting their tax obligations is cool. This high level of compliance contributes to nation building and enables the Government to deliver services that improve the quality of life of all its citizens.”..