Lau Zhen Zhou ("Lau"), a 35-year-old sole shareholder and director of Safety Marine Management Pte Ltd, will be facing 16 charges of assisting the company in evading a total of $1.8 million in Goods and Services Tax (GST) between 2015 and 2018 and another 4 charges of giving false replies with fabricated documents to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) auditors from October to December 2018.  

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. 

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.

One taxpayer was jailed on 18 December 2020 for providing false information to IRAS. He was sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment for furnishing false information to IRAS during its criminal investigations. 

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 Informant

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