PAIA Manual

This manual is published in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA). It explains what records eScripts holds as a private body, how to request access to them, what it may cost and what to do if a request is refused.

• Legal entity: Skarsity (Pty) Ltd
• Entity type: Private company (Pty) Ltd
• Registration number: 2020/891049/07
• Trading and service name: eScripts
• Physical / business address: 49 Sweet William Street, Terenure, Kempton Park, 1619, South Africa
• Director / office bearer: Ndzalama Peter Baloyi — Director
• Website: https://escripts.live
• Requests and enquiries: info@escripts.live
• Telephone / WhatsApp: +27 76 381 3360

The Information Officer particulars and registration status for Skarsity (Pty) Ltd are being formally confirmed and will be published in this manual once verified. In the meantime, PAIA requests may be sent to info@escripts.live, which is monitored for access-to-information requests.

The guide contemplated in section 10 of PAIA, which explains how to use the Act, is available from the Information Regulator (South Africa) at https://inforegulator.org.za/paia/. The Regulator also publishes the current prescribed PAIA request forms and fee schedule on its website; always use the version published there.

eScripts holds records in the following broad categories:

• Customer records — account and profile data, tax-year records, expenses, receipts, uploaded documents, income records, imported bank statement data, mileage and trip records, business, client, quotation and invoice records, Tax Packs and generated reports.
• Subscription and payment records — plan and interval history, payment references, statuses and related correspondence (excluding full card numbers, which we do not hold).
• Professional services records — service requests, quotations, mandates and assisted-filing case records.
• Practitioner records — practitioner accounts, consent relationships and access history.
• Operational records — support correspondence, audit and security logs, system configuration and internal policies.
• Corporate and statutory records — company, tax, accounting, employment and contractual records as applicable.

The following are freely available and do not require a PAIA request:

• the public website content, plan and pricing information;
• the policies published in this Legal & Compliance Centre; and
• your own account records, which you can view and export from within your eScripts workspace subject to your plan.

eScripts has not, at this stage, published a notice under section 52(2) of PAIA listing categories of records automatically available for inspection or purchase.

Records may also be kept in terms of, among others:

• Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
• Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
• Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
• Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 and the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962
• Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991, where applicable
• Companies Act 71 of 2008, where applicable
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, where applicable

1. Complete the current prescribed PAIA request form published by the Information Regulator (South Africa).
2. Provide enough detail to identify the record, your identity and the form of access you prefer.
3. State the right you are seeking to exercise or protect and why the record is required for that right.
4. Send the form to info@escripts.live.
5. We will respond within the statutory period, normally 30 days, which may be extended in the circumstances PAIA allows. We will tell you if a fee is payable before processing.

If a request relates to your own personal information rather than a third-party record, our data rights page may be a faster route.

PAIA prescribes a request fee and access fees for reproduction, search and preparation. The current amounts are those published by the Information Regulator (South Africa) and in the regulations; we apply those rates and will provide a written estimate where required before proceeding. Requesters seeking their own personal information are not charged a request fee, although access fees may still apply.

PAIA requires or permits us to refuse access in certain cases, including:

• unreasonable disclosure of another person's personal information (section 63);
• commercial information of a third party or of eScripts, including trade secrets and confidential information (sections 64 and 68);
• information supplied in confidence or subject to legal privilege (sections 65, 67);
• information that could endanger safety, security of property, or the security of systems (section 66); and
• records that do not exist or cannot be found (section 55).

We will give written reasons where we refuse a request and will grant partial access where a record can reasonably be severed.

If you are unhappy with our decision, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) or apply to a court as PAIA allows. The Regulator can be reached at https://inforegulator.org.za/ or by email at enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.