INLSA
Businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane, pictured here at a celebration to renew her wedding vows in March 2011, is challenging Sars over tax evasion charges against her.
The flashy lifestyle of then-metro policeman S’bu Mpisane – and how he was funding his plush house and many expensive cars – was what sparked the interest of the taxman.
And when it emerged that he was being supported by his wife Shauwn Mpisane, whose lifestyle was funded by her Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport CC, Sars officials turned their attention to the government-tendering housing company, it emerged in papers in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
The company and Mpisane – a wealthy businesswoman who admits to being politically connected – will stand trial in the Durban Regional Court in June, on charges of ripping off the taxman by R4.7 million.
But on Tuesday she scored a first-round victory over Sars when the Pretoria court declared the decision by the taxman to revoke Mpisane’s business tax clearance certificate to be of no force or effect.
This is an interim order pending an application she will soon bring for the court to review and finally set aside the decision by Sars to cancel or revoke the certificate – a decision she says would ruin her “socially significant business”, which employs 1 000 people, because it means she cannot apply for government tenders.
It emerged in the papers before Acting Judge Gregory Wright that in spite of the pending trial and the fact that she had a previous conviction for tax fraud, her company was still receiving tenders.
In fact, she discloses that at present she is receiving R17m a month from the eThekwini municipality – which would have stopped at the end of this month had yesterday’s application not been successful.
Mpisane said in her court papers that the tax certificate had been “maliciously” revoked on March 16 this year amid allegations that she was not tax compliant.
She said she believed she was up to date with her tax returns and that the Sars actions were “entirely politically motivated”.
“Sars is set on destroying my business,” she claimed, alleging that the Hawks and Sars representatives had made an “unprecedented” visit to the eThekwini municipality municipal manager and other senior officials two weeks ago.
“They said they wanted to know why the municipality was making payment to Zikhulise as they were aware that there were criminal charges pending. They advised that the tax clearance certificate was invalid. This was pursuant to a campaign of victimisation against me.”
Mpisane also alleged that a Sars official had tried to bribe her to “make the audit go away” and she had met him at the Beverley Hills Hotel, where closed-circuit TV cameras would have recorded the meeting.
She then reported it to Sars but was then advised that the camera footage was corrupt.
But Sars specialist investigator Yegandren Mundie says in his affidavit that Mpisane never made an affidavit about this and said the “footage was of little value”.
While accepting that the pending criminal charges were not an issue to the award of a tax clearance certificate, he accused Mpisane of failing to disclose on her application that the company had been under audit.
He accused Zikhulise of owing about R4 million to the taxman, not submitting certain returns for the 2011 tax year and of “not being tax compliant”.
He said Mpisane’s claims that she had gone to Sars in 2008 “for peace of mind” and invited an audit were untrue.
“The audit investigation was as a result of the decision taken to broaden the ambit of the tax investigation that commenced with an investigation into her husband (S’bu Mpisane),” he said.
He said when they wanted to question the Mpisanes, their lawyer asked for indemnity because Shauwn Mpisane had a previous conviction for VAT fraud. No indemnity was granted.
Mundie said the Hawks had attended the meeting with city officials “ to investigate alleged corruption concerning contracts with the municipality” and to assist Sars investigators looking at “allegations concerning a tax clearance certificate which may have been forged for the 2003 year”.
He also disclosed that Sars was investigating tax debts of another company, Ukhozi, in which Mpisane was involved, which owed R12 million “to the fiscus” for which Mpisane could be held personally liable.
In his judgment after hearing argument yesterday, Judge Wright said the court did not need to decide at this stage whether the decision by Sars to revoke the tax certificate was reviewable or not.
He said Mpisane had made out a case for an interim order, which would mean that her tax certificate would remain in force for now.
He questioned how Sars could revoke the tax certificate without prior notification, which would afford Mpisane the opportunity to make representations beforehand.
Sars was not prepared to comment on the effects of the judgment on other taxpayers whose certificates had been revoked. Spokeswoman Karen Nelmapius said they would first study the judgment.
