The South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced on Monday afternoon that it had collected R1 287.6-billion in tax for the financial year ended March 31 2019, some R14.6-billion less than what was estimated in the Budget. 

The tax agency's acting head Mark Kingon made the announcement in Pretoria. The 2019 Budget estimated a tax haul of R1 302.2-billion for the past financial year. 

"It should be noted that these are preliminary results, which will be subject to detailed financial reconciliation and a final audit." the agency said in a statement. 

While Sars collected more tax in total in the year ended March 31, it also paid out more in refunds. 

"The gross amount collected is R1 575.4-billion which was offset by refunds of R287.8-billion, resulting in net collections of R1 287.6-billion. The net revenue outcome of R1 287.6-billion represents a growth of R71.2-billion (5.8%) compared to the 2017/18 financial year."