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Jewellery shop employee gets 2 years’ jail for GST fraud

SINGAPORE – The last of a group of six accomplices who committed Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a penalty of almost S$28,000.

SINGAPORE – The last of a group of six accomplices who committed Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a penalty of almost S$28,000.

Lim Pheck Aun, 50, had generated electronic tourist refund scheme (eTRS) tickets for two Indian nationals based on invoices for jewellery that he knew were not purchased by them. In exchange for these favours, he received two bottles of Benedictine DOM liquor worth S$92.90 and S$200 in cash.

eTRS tickets are issued by participating GST-registered retailers, for tourists in Singapore to apply for a GST refund before they leave the country. Before being issued an eTRS ticket, a tourist must first present invoices or receipts showing the amount (including the amount of tax) paid for the goods.

Investigations revealed that the Indian nationals had purchased or obtained receipts issued for purchases of jewellery from other bona fide buyers. The duo then used it to make GST refund claims.

Lim was charged with 23 counts of GST fraud and nine counts of corruption.

In what prosecutors have described as the “most elaborate, sophisticated and pre-meditated GST fraud case” since the introduction of the eTRS in 2012, four Indian nationals involved in the racket were sentenced to jail terms of between 36 and 48 months, and ordered to pay penalties up to three times the amount of tax defrauded. The former Customs officer who accepted bribes to approve the claims was sentenced to five years’ jail and ordered to pay a penalty of S$673,084.80 for corruption and abetting the Indian nationals to fraudulently claim GST tourist refunds.

The maximum punishment for committing tax fraud is a penalty three times the amount of tax defrauded, and seven years imprisonment, or fined up for S$10,000, or both. Those who are convicted of performing corrupt transactions with agents face up to five years in jail, or fined up to S$100,000, or both.

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