- Suzan Pheladi Raphela and Sibusiso Sanele Mhlongo have been accused of defrauding the SA Revenue Service.
- It is alleged they failed to disclose a R45 million payment made by the police.
- This payment was for a personal protective equipment tender they were awarded.
Two people have appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for alleged tax evasion of more than R10 million after scoring a R45 million personal protective equipment (PPE) tender from the police at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
PSR Solutions (Pty) Ltd director Suzan Pheladi Raphela, 32, and SA Business Accountant and Associates director Sibusiso Sanele Mhlongo, 29, briefly appeared in court on Thursday after being served with a summons.
Raphela and Mhlongo have been charged with four counts of fraud related to the more than R10 million tax evasion, six counts of non-submission of tax returns and one count of non-registration of VAT.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), both accused, including their companies, allegedly defrauded SARS after PSR Solutions was awarded a PPE tender from the police.
"It is alleged that at the time PSR Solutions received the tender from SAPS, the company was not registered as a VAT vendor," NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
"However, when the company eventually registered as a VAT vendor in June 2020, it failed to disclose the R45 million payment received from SAPS, and therefore did not return its tax value."
The company allegedly only declared the VAT amount on the R45 million after being notified by SARS of an audit being conducted.
"They fraudulently claimed R4.4 million with the assistance of SA Business Accountant and Associates, a company that completed tax returns on behalf of PSR Solutions without valid supporting documents," Mahanjana added.
The case has been postponed to 3 August for disclosure of the docket, which indicates investigations into it have been finalised.
Never miss a story. Choose from our range of newsletters to get the news you want delivered straight to your inbox.