Company Director Lau Zhen Zhou Jailed for GST Evasion and False Reply to IRAS

• Lau Zhen Zhou, director of Safety Marine Management Pte Ltd, sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in jail for evading GST and providing false documents
• Lau assisted SMM in evading $1.1 million in GST and provided falsified documents during audit
• Lau made false entries in GST returns and gave false answer to IRAS auditors
• Lau ordered to pay $3,213,828.09 in penalties
• Severe penalties for GST evasion include three times the amount of tax undercharged, fine up to $10,000, and/or imprisonment up to 7 years
• Enhanced sentencing framework for GST evasion since 2022 with stiffer imprisonment sentences
• Serious consequences for providing false replies to IRAS, including penalty of three times the amount of tax undercharged, fine up to $10,000, and/or imprisonment up to 7 years
• Businesses and individuals encouraged to disclose past tax mistakes to IRAS
• Cash rewards for informants based on 15% of tax recovered, capped at $100,000, with identities kept confidential.

Source: iras.gov.sg

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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