The Paarl Magistrates’ Court has sentenced former Springbok rugby player, Schalk Willem Petrus Burger Senior, and his company, Welbedacht Wines (Pty) Ltd, after being convicted for failing to submit tax returns.
69-year-old Burger was convicted on 14 counts, including “failure to submit a VAT201 return for the period 02/2023, an EMP201 return for the period 03/2023 and IT12 Income Tax returns for the period of 2011 to 2022”, said the National Prosecuting Authority.
He was fined R6 000 or 12 months’ imprisonment on each count, with part of the sentence suspended for five years. This leaves him with a payable fine of R56 000 or 112 months’ imprisonment, plus a further R28 000 or 56 months suspended on condition. The court granted his request to pay in instalments of R6 000 per month, with a final payment of R8 000.
Welbedacht Wines was convicted for failing to submit VAT and PAYE returns for early 2023, receiving a wholly suspended fine of R6 000 per count for five years.
According to a Section 105A plea and sentence agreement, Burger admitted that Welbedacht Wines had been registered for VAT since 2004 and PAYE since 2010, with him as public officer. He also admitted to being registered for personal income tax since 1979 but failed to submit returns between 2011 and 2022 despite SARS’s repeated reminders. The returns were only filed after prosecution began.
Last month, his son, Christiaan Francois Burger, 40, was convicted on 12 counts of failing to submit income tax returns for 2011–2022. He was fined R48 000 or 96 months’ imprisonment, with part suspended.
NPA spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said tax evasion is a serious offence and indicated that taxpayers must ensure that they file their tax returns honestly and contribute their fair share to the fiscus.
“The NPA welcomes this sentence as it sends a strong message of deterrence on several levels. With the filing season for income tax currently underway, this is a clear message that failure by persons and juristic persons to file their Income Tax returns will not be tolerated.”
