Lye Wai Choong (“Lye”), 60, a doctor specialising in the treatment of kidney problems and director of Centre for Kidney Diseases Pte Ltd (“the Centre”), was ordered to pay fine of $21,000 and penalties totalling $1,794,627 after being found guilty of committing the following offences:

1. 2 offences under section 95(2)(a) of the Income Tax Act read with section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting the Centre in omitting its business income without reasonable excuse; and
2. 4 offences under section 59(2)(a) read with section 74(1) of the Goods and Services Tax Act for being a director of the Centre which had given incorrect information of the amount of GST in the Centre’s quarterly Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) returns. 
   

For abetting the Centre in submitting incorrect income tax returns without any reasonable excuse (which resulted in income tax being undercharged for the Centre for Years of Assessment (YAs) 2012 to 2014, Lye was ordered by the court to pay a penalty of $1,389,708 and a fine of $7,000 on 2 proceeded charges.

For being a director of the Centre which had given incorrect information about its output tax and input tax in the Centre’s GST returns for 12 quarters for Years 2011 to 2013, without any reasonable excuse, resulting in GST being undercharged, Lye was ordered by the court to pay a penalty of $404,919 and a fine of $14,000 on 4 proceeded charges. 

Penalties for Non-Compliance 
Giving Incorrect Information
Any business that gives incorrect information in its tax returns without reasonable excuse may be liable to a penalty that is twice the amount of tax undercharged. A fine and/or a jail term may also be imposed. Any director of the business or any person who abets such offence may also be liable for the offence.

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