11 Oct 2019

Arthur Yeo Yao Zhi (“Yeo”), director of Orynix Pte Ltd (“OPL”), has been sentenced by the court to a jail term of 4 weeks’ and a penalty of $147,795, which is three times the GST amount he evaded. Yeo pleaded guilty to two GST evasion charges, with the other two charges being taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing. 

Yeo had wilfully with intent to assist the company to fraudulently claim GST refunds totalling $77,230, made use of a fraud by overstating input tax in OPL’s GST F7 Forms (Disclosure of Errors on GST Return Form) for the accounting period from March 2012 to September 2012. 

Penalties for Evading GST

It is a serious offence to wilfully submit false GST returns by overstating any input tax, understating any output tax or including fictitious transactions. Upon conviction, offenders may face a penalty of three times the amount of tax undercharged, a fine not exceeding $10,000, and/or imprisonment of up to seven years.  

Cash Rewards for Informants

A reward based on 15% of the tax recovered, capped at $100,000, would be given to informants if the information and/or documents provided lead to a recovery of tax that would have otherwise been lost. All payments are at the discretion of the Comptroller. IRAS will ensure that the identities of informants are kept strictly confidential.

Reporting of Malpractices

Businesses or individuals are encouraged to immediately disclose any past tax mistakes. IRAS will treat such disclosures as mitigating factors when considering action to be taken. Those who wish to disclose past mistakes or report malpractices can write to:

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
Investigation & Forensics Division
55 Newton Road, Revenue House
Singapore 307987

Email: [email protected]

 

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore