Only collections from Personal Income Tax - which was buffered by above inflationary wage increases - the fuel levy and excise duty showed year-on- year gains but these were not enough to off-set significant declines in Corporate Income Tax (R30.2 billion or 18% lower), VAT (R6.4 billion or 4% lower) and Customs duties (R3.2 billion or 14% lower). In response to the challenging revenue collection target, coupled with the tough economic conditions, SARS identified a number of necessary special initiatives to enable achieving its target. These initiatives, along with the dedicated SARS workforce, were key factors in helping SARS exceed the revised target by R8.4 billion.