Specialised Tax Component

Purpose

The NPA has undertaken in its Memorandum of Understanding with SARS to establish a specialist tax prosecution capacity within the NPA in the form of a Specialist Tax Component (the STC). The STC's role and exclusive mandate is to prosecute serious and complex tax offences. The STC is responsible for the prosecution of tax crime, specifically where such incidences are linked to the commission of organised crime.

The NPA and SARS entered a Memorandum of understanding in March 2003. This MOU was updated during 2019. The following are examples of the type of crimes committed and the investigations involved in the cases (almost all the cases investigated are Racketeering matters):

• VAT fraud
• IT fraud
• Customs fraud
• “Ghost Exports”
• Money Laundering
• Exchange control regulations
• Cross border crimes