Cape Town attorney fined R108,000 after failing to submit tax returns for 20 years
A Cape Town attorney has been R108,000 or 18 years’ direct imprisonment after failing to submit income tax and payroll-related returns for more than two decades.
Sulaiman Chotia, the sole proprietor of J Ramages Attorneys in Athlone, entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State under Section 105A of the Criminal Procedure Act.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazilila, said Chotia pleaded guilty to 18 statutory contraventions of South Africa’s tax legislation and paid R72,000 to avoid incarceration.
Ntabazilila said the court heard that Chotia failed to submit income tax returns and EMP501 reconciliation statements over a 20-year period, from January 2005 to January 2025.
An EMP501 is a biannual reconciliation report employers must submit to the South African Revenue Services (SARS). It summarises employee renumeration and payroll taxes including Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Skills Development Levy and Unemployment Insurance Fund contributions.
Ntabazilila said despite repeated reminders and final demand notices from SARS, Chotia remained non-compliant. Fifteen years of income tax returns and three PAYE periods were outstanding. The outstanding documents were only submitted after a criminal summons was issued.
The State argued that as a legal practitioner, Chotia was fully responsible for his firm’s tax compliance.
“Non-compliance in respect of acts relating to income tax and PAYE are on the increase and had devastating negative consequences for the fiscus and the economy at large. The offences were serious and had a negative impact on the fiscus and the community at large,” said the State.
In mitigation, Chotia admitted his legal responsibility and acknowledged that the returns were not submitted as required. He told the court that he had delegated tax compliance duties to his office manager, who passed away in 2019, and that subsequent attempts to resolve the matter through other staff members were initially unsuccessful. A third person eventually helped to regularise the firm’s tax affairs.
Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicoletter Bell, welcomed the sentence, stating that compliance with tax legislation is mandatory and must be strictly observed.
“The accused is a practicing attorney and ought to have known better,” she said.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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