Ang Chee Kiong (“Ang”), aged 46, a sole-proprietor who was a parallel car importer, has been found guilty in Court for the following offences:  

• making false entries in his Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) returns by under-declaring his sales revenue to evade a total amount of $309,007 in GST in 2010 and 2011; and

• making false entries in his Income Tax returns by under-reporting his trade income and as a result evading a total amount of $295,664 in income taxes for Years of Assessment (“YAs”) 2011 and 2012.

For the one proceeded charge of making false entries, with wilful intent to evade tax, in his GST returns, the Court sentenced Ang to 6 months’ imprisonment and ordered a penalty of $797,621 (three times the amount of GST evaded).  

For the two proceeded charges of making false entries, with wilful intent to evade tax, in his Income Tax returns, the Court sentenced Ang to 2 months’ imprisonment for each proceeded charge and a penalty of $886,993 (three times the amount of income tax evaded).

In total, the sentences of two charges were ordered to run consecutively, and as such Ang was sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment and $1,684,615 in penalties, in-default 16 months’ imprisonment term if he is unable to pay the amount.

IRAS Warns Against Tax Evasion

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

Similarly, there will be severe penalties for those who wilfully evade income tax. IRAS will not hesitate to bring offenders to court. Offenders may face a penalty of up to four times the amount of tax evaded, a fine not exceeding $10,000, and/or imprisonment of up to three years.

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.

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]

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore