Case and status
Former Ensoft Consulting group executive director Vijay Kumar Muvva was the first person convicted and jailed for unauthorised GST collection under section 64A. He received seven weeks’ imprisonment and a S$83,300 penalty for collection, plus a S$2,000 fine and S$13,961 penalty for failure to notify registration liability.
Facts, amounts and outcome
Ensoft exceeded S$1 million of taxable supplies by December 2017 and had to notify IRAS by 30 January 2018. Vijay nevertheless authorised employees to collect GST while the company was not registered. The release explains the provision effective from January 2019: unauthorised collection or attempted collection can be an offence even without issuing a receipt or invoice. Customers can check GST-registration status using the business name or registration number.
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.
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.
Two distinct GST offences
| Offence | Sentence |
|---|---|
| Registration failure | Fine S$2,000; penalty S$13,961 |
| Unauthorised collection | 7 weeks; penalty S$83,300 |
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 ↗