Buntono, 49, who runs Eminent Frog Porridge (Ming Hui Food Porridge) (“Eminent Frog Porridge”) and Eminentseafood, was charged in Court today with Income Tax and Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) evasion and money laundering offences, following a joint investigation by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”) and the Commercial Affairs Department (“CAD”) of the Singapore Police Force. He faces a total of 30 charges for the following offences:

Tax offences

• Wilfully understating his trade income for Years of Assessment (“YAs”) 2016 to 2024, resulting in close to $2 million of income tax being undercharged;
• Wilfully perpetuating a fraud by deliberately concealing the liability of his businesses to be registered for GST and falsely understating his business income in his income tax returns for YAs 2016 to 2024, resulting in close to $1.8 million of GST being undercharged; and
• Failing to keep sufficient business records for YAs 2016 to 2024.

Money laundering offences

• Possessing properties that, in part, represented his benefits from wilful income tax evasion, namely over $2.4 million in cash, a Lamborghini Aventador and a landed property.

IRAS Warns Against Tax Evasion

IRAS takes a serious view of tax evasion. There will be severe penalties for those who wilfully evade tax. The authority will not hesitate to bring offenders to court. Offenders may face a penalty of up to four times the amount of tax evaded. Jail terms may also be imposed.

GST Registration Required for Businesses Exceeding $1 Million Annual Turnover

All businesses, including individuals deriving income from their trade, profession or vocation, should closely monitor their income on a calendar year basis to assess if they need to register for GST.

• If a business’s taxable turnover for the past 12 months exceeds $1 million at the end of the calendar year, it must apply for GST registration by 30 January.
• If a business reasonably expects its turnover to exceed $1 million in the next 12 months, it must register within 30 days from the date of their forecast.
• Sole proprietors are required to register once the combined turnover from all their sole-proprietorship businesses and income from any trade, profession or vocation exceeds or is expected to exceed $1 million in the next 12 months.

Any business that fails to register for GST is still required to pay GST on all their past transactions from the date the business became liable for GST registration. GST is payable even if the amount was not collected from customers. Failure to register for GST is an offence and businesses may face penalties of 10% of GST and fines of up to $10,000.

Keeping Proper Records

IRAS would like to remind all taxable persons to keep proper records and accounts of all their taxable transactions. Records pertaining to income tax must be retained for a period of 5 years from the relevant YA, while records pertaining to GST must be retained for a period of not less than 5 years from the prescribed accounting period. Those who fail to do so may be liable on conviction to a fine and/or a jail term.

Penalties for Money Laundering

Under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, it is an offence for any person to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer, remove from jurisdiction, acquire, possess, or use benefits derived from criminal conduct. Upon conviction, offenders are liable to be punished with a fine of up to $500,000, or an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, or both.

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 actions to be taken. Please refer to the IRAS website for more information on how to disclose past mistakes. Those who wish to report malpractices may make their submissions via this form.

Cash Rewards for Informants

A reward based on 15% of the tax recovered, capped at $100,000, will 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.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
Singapore Police Force