INLSA
Shauwn Mpisane leaves the Durban Regional Court on the arm of her husband, Sbu. Her lawyers are fighting to clear her of tax fraud charges. Picture: Gcina Ndwalane
Durban – The defence team of businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane on Monday attacked the credibility of a Sars official, who is testifying about fake invoices, saying she was trying to get away with lying to the court.
Mpisane and her company are charged in the Durban Regional Court with 119 counts of fraud involving R4.7 million.
The charges are that she submitted documents, including fraudulent revised income tax statements for the 2008 year and fake invoices, to Sars and put incorrect information on VAT returns for the 2009/10 tax year.
Mpisane has pleaded not guilty and has blamed her former bookkeeper, Kishal Reddy.
In a separate case, Reddy pleaded guilty to generating the fake invoices but said he had done so on Mpisane’s orders. He has been fined R30 000 and will be the State’s key witness in the trial.
Mpisane’s advocate, Rafik Bhana SC, on Monday accused state witness Waheeda Osman of “fudging her evidence” to suit the State’s purposes.
“You think you can get away with lying unless there is a letter before this court?”
The letter referred to was sent by Mpisane’s legal team to Osman in 2008 and explained Mpisane had been convicted of VAT fraud in 2005 despite going through a voluntary disclosure process.
In response, Osman, who earlier in her testimony had been adamant the 2005 conviction had not been discussed with her, said she had forgotten about the letter.
“It was not a deliberate lie, I simply forgot,” she said.
Last week, Osman testified she audited Zikhulise’s financial statements in 2008 and said Mpisane’s representatives had requested an immunity from prosecution for Mpisane during her first meeting with them.
She said Mpisane later objected to the audit findings and submitted a revised financial statement with a profit which had been reduced by R28m.
Osman said she had discovered the purchase invoices, which were relied on to reduce the profit, were fake.
Bhana said Mpisane had not asked for indemnity from prosecution, but merely a tax exemption, which was legal.
“The letter talks about an exemption not about any indemnity. How do you explain that? Did you write back and say that the letter is wrong?”
Osman said the letter did not refer to the indemnity but stressed Mpisane’s representative had asked for it during the meeting.
Bhana said Mpisane had always conducted herself as someone who wanted to be “tax compliant”.
Osman responded by saying: if Mpisane had wanted to be a responsible taxpayer she would have paid R1.7m in understated VAT in February 2007 and not waited until the audit in June 2008.
“The financial affairs of Zikhulise are not similar to that of a large company,” Osman said. “There are only about 50 to 100 invoices.
“Mpisane signed off the financial statements sent to Sars and should have been well aware of what was due.”
The case was adjourned to today. Mpisane is out on bail.
kamini.padayachee@inl.co.za
The Mercury
