Man fined for illegally collecting GST

He made his clients pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) even though he was not supposed to.

Through that, he amassed more than $19,000, which he used for his business, family expenses and to pay off his credit card bills.

On Friday, Soh Kay Hee, a manager of Presido International, pleaded guilty to 64 charges to unlawfully charging customers GST and was ordered to pay S$136,118.40 - more than six times the amount he unlawfully garnered - in penalties and fines.

If he defaults, he will be jailed for 320 days, the Inland revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) said on Friday.

The statement also said that Soh and his wife Goh Ka cheng - who was the sole proprietor of Presido International, a business selling security and fire-fighting equipment - are not GST-registered persons.

Sometime in 2002, Soh realised that Presido did not have to submit any GST forms, and checked the Iras website and found out that Presido was not registered for GST.

Soh then sought advice from the Taxpayer Service centre and was told to refund his customers.

but Soh used the money for his business and family expenses.

The GST that Soh collected unlawfully on 1,095 sales invoices amounted to $68,000, but only 64 charges were proceeded on, with 260 charges taken into consideration.

It is an offence for non GSTregistered businesses to issue tax invoices charging and collecting GST on their sales, said Iras.

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