Sassa has received millions of applications for the R350 grant. However, not all applications that are received will be accepted, as some applicants will be rejected and apply to have this outcome appealed.
The government agency has been administering the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to individuals that lost their sources of income due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has an online system in place, for recipients to use to apply for the SRD grant.
In an event that a SRD grant applicant has received a notification that their application has been declined, then they will need to lodge an appeals application to be reconsidered for the grant.
It is accordingly in your best interest to lodge an appeal as soon as you get a rejected notification from Sassa and not delay. If you are not sure how to submit your SRD grant appeal, then this is the process that you need to follow:
- Visit the SRD grant appeals official website
- Click on the green bar that says ‘click here to lodge an appeal or check appeal status’
- Enter your ID number
- Enter your cell phone number
- Click ‘send pin’ and wait for the SMS which will contain the verification pin
- Enter the pin and click ‘submit’
- Select the month you are submitting an appeal for
- Select the drop down arrow and choose the reason for your appeal
- Click ‘submit’
Since the SRD is re-evaluated by Sassa and paid on a monthly basis, to confirm that a person is still in need of the grant, an appeal application needs to be lodged in relation to each month where a person is rejected by Sassa.
Applicants may lodge their appeal within a period of 30 days but not exceeding 90 days, to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals (ITSAA).
This will be followed by the Independent Tribunal checking and revalidating the various databases used by Sassa, that may indicate income or alternative financial assistance, including the verification databases of insufficient means with banks.
After the appeal has been lodged, the Independent Tribunal will investigate and determine if Sassa has made any mistakes in evaluating SRD grant application and the outcome of the appeal will be communicated to the relevant person.