The total includes 4.214m returns from individuals for the 2012 tax year‚ a 14.3% increase compared with 3.688 million in 2011.
SARS also reported it received 1.4m outstanding returns from previous years which is 25% (275 000) higher than the 1.09m outstanding returns submitted by the 2011 deadline.
"This is a very encouraging indicator that the administrative penalties that SARS imposes for outstanding returns are having the desired effect of improving levels of compliance‚" SARS said.
"The level of tax compliance we have achieved in South Africa is unprecedented among developing countries‚ but also among some developed nations‚" Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said.
"We are highly appreciative of the excellent co-operation that fellow citizens have given SARS‚ which is demonstrated by the rising levels of tax compliance and the greater timeliness with which taxpayers are submitting their returns."
Gordhan noted that nearly 400‚000 more individuals received refunds this year than in 2011.
Electronic filing has picked up momentum‚ with SARS assisting many millions of taxpayers at branch offices who submitted 2.59m returns electronically‚ an increase of 25.7% compared with 2011.
"Returns submitted on eFiling by taxpayers themselves totalled 3.08m‚ 11.2% higher than in 2011‚" SARS said.
Refunds of R14.55bn were paid in 2012 which is 14.8% or R1.87bn higher than the 2011 figure of R12.68bn.
This year SARS paid 94.5% of all refunds within 72 hours compared with 85.44% in 2011. The average refund per taxpayer amounted to R6‚272 compared with about R6‚600 in 2011.
SARS issued 5.2m penalty notices this year to 486‚000 taxpayers with outstanding returns from previous years.
It said the "punitive" measures were necessary to ensure fairness between the growing body of compliant taxpayers who submitted returns by this year's deadline and those who remained non-compliant.
Taxpayers who have not yet submitted their returns will face administrative penalties‚ starting at R250 for every month that the return has not yet been submitted.
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
