The Hawks’ Commercial unit has on Tuesday arrested two suspects, male and female aged 42 and 49 respectively. The arrests followed lengthy internal SARS investigations relating to unclaimed Input VAT claims by several Western Cape municipalities, for the period 2009 to 2011.
It is alleged that a tax consultant company under the duo’s directorship was contracted by Oudtshoorn, Venterdorp and Plettenberg Bay Municipalities to assist in recovering unclaimed Input Vat for these periods, and in return, the entity was paid lucratively for each successful tax recovery made.
Investigations laid bare the fact that, the said entity was somehow allegedly inflating their VAT assessment figures as it stood to benefit directly. Claims were somehow allegedly repeatedly submitted, even on items already claimed in previous periods, or claimed on items which are prohibited by the VAT Act, resulting in the Receiver of Revenue suffering losses to the tune of approximately R16 million.
The pair’s unlawful exploits were brought to a screeching halt by the probe. They are expected to appear in the George Magistrate’s Court on October 4, 2016, to face charges of fraud and contravening Value Added Tax Act.
