After tackling VAT evasion with considerable success, the SA Revenue Service will take on rampant tax fraud in the construction sector, Commissioner Oupa Magashula said on Tuesday.
Magashula told Parliament's standing committee on finance that construction was the least tax compliant of all sectors of the formal economy.
This was particularly troubling, he said, because contractors who secured government tenders received large sums of public money for projects.
“Given that this sector receives a significant portion of public infrastructure spending from the fiscus, compliance is even more critical.
“We intend to ensure that those companies benefiting from public sector tenders maintain their compliance for the duration of the contract and don't only need a tax clearance certificate at the beginning of the process”.
Magashula announced in October last year a new verification system had prevented some R4 billion in VAT fraud. He said this figure had grown to R11 billion in recent months.
The new VAT system gave people who filed suspicious refund claims the option to submit more supporting documentation, or required them to revise their declaration. - Sapa