A medical doctor found guilty of defrauding the South African Revenue Services (SARS) of R17 million by not submitting his tax returns has been sentenced.
Fabian Royston Tun was recently sentenced in the Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in the Northern Cape. He was found guilty of eight counts of failure to submit Personal Income Tax Returns (PIT) and 42 counts of failure to submit Value-Added Tax returns (VAT201).
The court heard that Tun owned a medical practice called F. R. Tun Practice and failed to submit personal income tax returns from 2015 to 2022, despite receiving income amounting to over R17 million.
“Even though the accused did not submit his tax returns during the said tax periods, the accused received taxable income, and such taxable income was not declared to the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service,” explained NPA spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane.
For the failure to submit Personal Income Tax returns, the accused was sentenced to two years, wholly suspended for five years on the condition that he is not convicted of the same offence during the suspension period.
“For the failure to submit Value Added Tax returns, the accused was sentenced to a fine of R1,000 or four months imprisonment per count.”
The NPA stated that Tun has since submitted all his outstanding Personal Income Tax Returns and Value-Added Tax returns.
“The impact is that Dr. Tun now has a criminal record, and SARS will be able to determine his tax liabilities.”
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the conviction.
“This conviction will send a clear message to citizens that they must submit their personal and business tax returns or face arrest, conviction, and sentencing,” said Senokoatsane.
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