Company, director fined for R 5.7 million PAYE fraud

A company and its director were convicted for pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) fraud for claiming a false PAYE credit of R5.7 million.

This after an investigation by auditors of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) found that the false PAYE credit was submitted to nullify a tax debt to the value of R5.6 million. The PAYE credit was disallowed by the Sars auditors.

“The company called YB Mashalaba and Associates (Pty) Ltd and the director Mr Yandisa Bavulele Mashalaba pleaded guilty in the Bloemfontein Regional Court,” Sars said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company was fined R100,000, suspended wholly for five years, while the director was fined R500,000 or five years imprisonment, suspended wholly for five years.

Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said companies and their directors would face criminal prosecution if they transgressed the law and tried to defraud the fiscus of any revenue that was due to the state.

“Sars will make it hard and costly for any taxpayer who wilfully and intentionally seeks to break the law as we expect every taxpayer to meet their obligations and pay their fair share of tax,” Kieswetter said.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe