Times Of Swaziland: E13M TAX FRAUD: OVER 10 COMPANIES FACE PROSECUTION

E13M TAX FRAUD: OVER 10 COMPANIES FACE PROSECUTION
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BY KWANELE DHLADHLA on 05/10/2018 09:25:00


MBABANE – The SRA might be lenient to voluntary compliant firms but this has
not stopped the authority from cracking the whip on those who refuse to comply.
This could well be substantiated by the revelation to the effect that over 10
companies stand to be prosecuted for alleged Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud tax
fraud, which include Value Added Tax (VAT).
Without providing much detail on the nature of VAT fraud committed by the
companies in question, Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) Commissioner General
(CG) Dumisani Masilela, informed captains of industry during a stakeholder
meeting convened yesterday at the Royal Swazi Spa, that the amount involved in
the alleged crimes was more than E13 million.
Safeguarding
“We are strongly safeguarding against any form of crime being committed
through VAT,” emphasised Masilela.
VAT currently stands at 15 per cent both in Eswatini and South Africa.
The CG continued to state that there was a potential for fraud in the collection
of VAT, to the extent that it had been uncovered in South Africa that some
companies were being formed primarily to claim VAT which is not due.
Daphne Mhlanga inquired as to how far the SRA was efficient in terms of adhering
to the set timeframes, with regards to the processing of Tax Refunds by
companies. She alleged that it had been almost a year they have been waiting for
their refund but correspondence with regards to how far the claim had been
processed was not forthcoming.
In response, the CG stated that as an authority, they were highly cognisant of
the importance to adhere to deadlines since they also expect taxpayers to fully
adherent at all times.
Unfortunate
He said it was unfortunate that such a period had lapsed before a tangible
response could be provided, but suggested that there was a strong likelihood
that they had requested certain information, which could not be provided by the
firm, which had led to the delay.
Masilela promised that SRA officers would take the matter up to determine what
could have happened.
Further, the CG outlined that in terms of the law, a VAT refund should be
processed within 60 days failing which, the claiming entity was liable to claim
interest from the SRA if the process has not been completed.
Therefore, he said it was in the best interest of the SRA to finalise all claims
within the stipulated timeframe, to avoid losing out on revenue which would be
much against their mandate to collect revenue for the State.