SARS clamps down on the illicit rhino industry

22 September 2022

Several specialised divisions within the South African Revenue Services (SARS) are focusing on tax audit investigations aimed at suspect non-compliant taxpayers, actors and facilitators benefitting directly or indirectly from tax evasion and illicit financial flows stemming from wildlife crime.

“The illicit hunting of rhino and trading in rhino horns constitutes a national as well as an international crime. In the 10 years since, 9,885 rhinos have been killed across Africa, according to the 22 August 2022 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there were 22,137 rhinos, black and white, left in Africa at the end of 2021. SARS will do all within the provisions of the law it administers to confront these criminal gangs, he concluded”.

In line with its strategy objective of making hard and costly for those who engages in non-compliant activities, tax audit investigations are aimed at suspect non-compliant taxpayers, actors and facilitators benefitting directly or indirectly from tax evasion and illicit financial flows stemming from wildlife crime.

Tax evasion is an integral offence to money-laundering. In this regard SARS will continue to enhance its engagements with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), DPCI, the Department Forestry, Fisheries & Environment, and engagement with the South African Anti-Money-Laundering Integrated Task Force (SAMLIT), which is a private-public partnership aimed at combating financial crimes and illicit financial flows linked to criminal activity.

You can read the full media release here.