Durban: A 47-year-old man who pleaded guilty to 19 counts of fraud against the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has been jailed to six years.
Manivasen Govender was sentenced in the Durban Magistrate’s Court for the offences which occurred in Durban between October 2010 and February 2014.
According to Natasha Kara, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in KZN, Govender filed VAT returns for his company, of which he was the sole member.
“He was paid approximately R3.8 million in tax refunds. However, an investigation by Sars showed that there was an under-declaration of turnover when his bank statements were compared to the declarations that he made. Further investigations revealed that Govender submitted fictitious invoices to Sars in support of his claims.”
Kara said the court heard that Govender had generated and provided invoices from his brother’s company that were prepared by himself to inflate the VAT paid to suppliers.
Kara said the prejudice suffered by Sars was about R8.8m.
“The Asset Forfeiture Unit, represented by advocate Rajendrie Naidoo, obtained a confiscation order in terms of Section 18 of Poca (the Prevention of Organised Crime Act) to the value of R 90 000.”
Kara said during sentencing that the court deviated from the minimum sentence of 15 years because Govender had pleaded guilty, and the court saw this as a substantial and compelling reason to deviate.
IOL