A Durban doctor has narrowly escaped prison after he was convicted for tax fraud.
Kuhlekonke Richman Mkhize (40) was sentenced to eight years imprisonment wholly suspended for a period of five years with conditions.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of personal income tax fraud.
He is a medical doctor who also represented his company, Doctors Care Centre, and pleaded guilty to one count of failure to withhold employees’ tax.
The Durban Regional Court heard that the offences between the period of 2015 to 2018, and consequently defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of over R2 million in total.
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The condition attached to his sentence is that he pays an amount of over R2 million directly to SARS with an upfront payment of R300 000 which must be paid as follows:
R150 000 before 07 May 2024,
R75 000 before 15 June 2024, and
R75 000 before 19 July 2024.
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Dr Mkhize was instructed to then pay the remaining amount of over R1.7 million in instalments of R50 000 per month to SARS on or before the 25th of each month, from August 2024 to July 2027.
Doctors Care Centre was sentenced to a fine of R150 000 which is wholly suspended for a period of two years.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter.
“This case is indicative of the effective working relationship between the NPA, the AFU and SARS, to ensure that all those who defraud SARS or evade tax are identified and successfully prosecuted. Stakeholder engagements to successfully solve tax cases, continue to yield fruitful results.”
