A company exporting scrap metal and its boss have been slapped with a hefty R600,000 fine after being found guilty of trying to avoid paying tax through false declarations.
The SA Revenue Service (Sars) hurled Scrapmania, which is Cape Town-based, and its director Joseph Daniel Hurling, to court and charged them with making a false declaration to customs.
Both Scrapmania and Hurling pleaded guilty to the charge of mis-declaring a consignment of scrap metal to avoid paying the recently introduced export duties on scrap metal. They were fined R500,000, with Hurling given an additional R100,000 fine in the Durban regional court.
“On 23 September 2021, Mirage Shipping processed an export declaration for 10 containers of 'polymers and ethylene' on behalf of Scrapmania,” read a media statement from Sars.
“The shipment made its way from Cape Town to Durban Harbour, where it was detained for inspection on arrival, after it was flagged on the customs system.
“On 12 October 2021, it was inspected and found to contain scrap metal, which requires an International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) permit and is liable for export duties. A criminal case was then registered with the SAPS for contravention of the Customs and Excise Act and the ITAC Act.”
The scrap metal industry is a multibillion-rand industry and contributes an estimated R15bn annually to SA’s gross domestic product.
Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the case should serve as a warning to those wanting to carry out criminal acts at the border.
“This is a warning that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that those who are involved in these types of behaviour that borders on criminality are dealt with harshly.
“Our fiscus is shortchanged by this intentional and criminal misdeclaration,” Kieswetter said.
Kieswetter said the revenue service will continue to make it easy and seamless for traders to comply with their legal obligation by providing them with clarity and certainty. “Equally, Sars is building its capability to make it hard and costly for those traders who chose to be non-compliant,” he said.
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