Durban - The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has dismissed complaints laid by Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane that a number of expensive items, including designer shoes and bags, went missing after a raid by the tax collector.
Sars spokesperson Sandile Memela said the complaint was an attempt to frustrate the execution of the writ against her.
The complaint concerns events that allegedly transpired during the sheriff’s execution of a writ against Mpisane in respect of a tax debt.
Memela said the execution of the writ began last Wednesday and was completed on Friday, while Mpisane laid the criminal complaint against the Sars officials and others on Thursday.
He could not reveal how much the Mpisanes owed the tax man.
Memela said police officers were on site and present at all relevant times while the writ was executed.
According to City Press, Mpisane says in an affidavit filed with the Durban North police station that five Gucci handbags, three Louis Vuitton purses and one Hermes bag were stolen. Shoes lost in the raid include a pair of Gucci sneakers and a pair of Christian Louboutin loafers, as well as 30 pairs of school shoes she had collected for charity.
She also claimed a bottle of “Spades” champagne and case of Dom Pérignon champagne were stolen.
Mpisane opened a case of house- breaking and theft. She said in the affidavit that the men included a curator and his security personnel who unlawfully entered her home and intimidated her on Tuesday.
She said her lawyer managed to get them off her property. However, the men returned on Wednesday and were armed this time.
The affidavit adds that the Sars officials allegedly returned again on Friday while the family celebrated their son Andile’s eighteenth birthday away from home, and removed the locks without a court order.
In 2014, Sars claimed the couple owed R65million in personal income tax, a figure that was later decreased.
“Sars surmises that the taxpayer’s motivation for laying the complaint was to frustrate the execution process. Sars is of the view that the complaints of trespassing, housebreaking, intimidation and theft are without merit. Sars and the sheriff have engaged with the investigating officer,” said Memela.
He said the Sars officials had not been charged criminally and that the matter was being investigated.