51-year-old Desmond Ng Teng Poh (“Ng”), sole shareholder and director of Studioholic Private Limited (“SPL”), was convicted of one charge of assisting SPL to evade a total of $351,506 in Goods and Services Tax (GST). He was further convicted of two other charges of providing falsified documents during his audit with the intent to evade the aforesaid GST. One other charge was taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing.  

Ng made false entries in SPL’s quarterly GST return ending March 2018 by claiming input tax for purported purchases that SPL had never made. In addition, in July 2018, Ng gave false information with falsified documents in response to queries by IRAS auditors. For all his offences, Ng was sentenced to 38 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay a total of $2,458,537 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, 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 action 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