Case and status
Ang Leong Siong of Nice Vision Optical and Eyes to Eyes was the first repeat offender prosecuted under IRAS’ Post Compliance Surveillance programme. His offences included income-tax and GST evasion, failure to notify GST-registration liability and false PIC claims.
Facts, amounts and outcome
He pleaded guilty to two income-tax counts involving S$151,725 undercharged, three GST-evasion counts involving S$24,299, a registration count and a false PIC claim of S$6,000. The court imposed six months and three weeks in prison and S$561,800 fines and penalties. IRAS reviewed 402 self-employed taxpayers under the programme during 2017–2020; repeat inaccuracies could lead to heavier penalties. Digital records can support the corrective practices required after an audit.
GST registration discussed in this release
The release discusses monitoring taxable turnover on a calendar-year basis, with registration required after annual taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million. It also refers to the forward-looking test where applicable. Taxable turnover is not the same as net profit. Failure to register can still leave GST payable from the liability date even if customers were not charged. The cited consequences include a 10% tax penalty and a possible fine up to S$10,000. Registration dates and procedures should be read in the context of the release year and the official guidance.
Records and supporting evidence
IRAS stresses accurate records of business income, costs and taxable transactions, supported by real invoices, receipts, bank statements and payment evidence. Records must support the figures declared and the improvements required after an audit. Unsupported claims may be challenged, and record-keeping can be an obligation separate from paying tax. Digitised records should remain complete and traceable to the underlying transaction.
Disclosure, reporting and rewards
IRAS encourages taxpayers to correct past errors and report suspected tax malpractices. The release says disclosure may be considered when deciding enforcement action; it is not a blanket promise of immunity. Where the release describes informant rewards, qualifying information leading to otherwise lost tax recovery may attract 15% of recovered tax, capped at S$100,000, at IRAS’ discretion. Informant identities are kept confidential. Use the official release links for its reporting and disclosure channels.
Official source
This report is independently written from the IRAS release dated above. Case status, policy announcements and historical figures refer to that release.
Read the complete IRAS release ↗