Two brothers, Sibghatullah S/O Mohammed Akhtar (“Sibghatullah”) and Mohammed Abdullah (“Abdullah”), who are also business partners of Mohammed Akhtar Carpets, were convicted in court today for omitting their investments income totalling $871,598 in their income tax returns for the Years of Assessment (YAs) 2007 to 2011. Both Sibghatullah and Abdullah faced five charges each under the Income Tax Act for wilful intent to evade tax, amounting to a total of $118,559 in taxes evaded.  

Court Sentences

For their respective two proceeded charges, the Court sentenced Sibghatullah to 2 weeks' imprisonment and ordered him to pay a penalty of $130,470 which is three times the amount of taxes evaded and Abdullah was sentenced to 2 weeks' imprisonment and ordered to pay a penalty of $123,444, which is three times the amount of taxes evaded. Their respective remaining three other charges were taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing.

IRAS Warns Against Tax Evasion

IRAS takes a serious view of non-compliance and tax evasion. There will be severe penalties for those who wilfully evade tax. The authority will not hesitate to bring offenders to court. Offenders may face a penalty of up to four times the amount of tax evaded. Jail terms may also be imposed.

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