38-year-old Lau Zhen Zhou (“Lau”), sole shareholder and director of Safety Marine Management Pte Ltd (“SMM”), was convicted of 5 charges of assisting SMM to evade a total of about $1.1 million in Goods and Services Tax (GST) and one charge of providing falsified documents during his audit with the intent to evade the aforesaid GST. Fourteen (14) other similar charges were considered in sentencing.

Between 2017 and 2018, Lau made false entries in 5 of SMM’s GST returns. In addition, in November 2018, Lau gave a false answer with fabricated documents in response to queries by IRAS auditors. For all his offences, Lau was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months’ of imprisonment and ordered to pay a total of $3,213,828.09 in penalties.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Severe Penalties for GST Evasion

It is a serious offence to wilfully submit false GST returns by overstating any input tax, understating any output tax or including fictitious claims. Upon conviction, offenders may face a penalty of three times the amount of tax undercharged, in addition to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.

With the enhanced sentencing framework for GST evasion since 2022, offenders will face a stiffer imprisonment sentence which takes into account the harm caused by the offender and his or her culpability, such as the quantum of tax evaded, the degree of planning and premeditation and sustained period of offending. The imprisonment term imposed for GST evasion under Section 62 of the GST Act may span the full range of up to seven years.

Serious Consequences for Providing False Replies Verbally or in Writing to IRAS

All businesses and individuals are reminded that they are required to provide full cooperation during the course of IRAS’ audits and investigations. IRAS will not hesitate to take stern actions against those who deliberately give false information to IRAS officers. Offenders found guilty of giving false answers verbally or in writing to any request for information by IRAS in order to evade tax will face a penalty of three times the amount of tax undercharged, and be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.

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]

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.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore