The RCB Forum’s submission to SARS outlines key concerns and recommendations regarding the implementation of the Tax Practitioner Readiness Programme (TPRP), which was introduced to standardize tax practitioner competency. While acknowledging SARS’s responsiveness to prior feedback—such as lowering the cooling-off period and clarifying assessment questions—the Forum emphasizes unresolved issues, including the prolonged reliance on Recognised Controlling Bodies (RCBs) to host the programme, the absence of a clear competency framework aligned to NQF level 4, an excessively high pass rate, and unclear justifications for the 3-month cooling-off period. The Forum proposes that SARS take over hosting the TPRP by 31 December 2025, develop a formal educational framework to inform the structure and difficulty of assessments, increase the question count to improve pass mark calculations, and provide candidates with feedback to guide remedial learning. Detailed commentary on ambiguous or unclear assessment items is also annexed, reinforcing the need for enhanced clarity, relevance, and fairness in the programme’s administration.
