Former professional engineer penalised for evading taxes and failing to register for GST

Case and status

Former electrical engineer Ng Hai Hock of NHH Consultants received six weeks’ imprisonment, S$180,105.37 fines and penalties and S$533,504.25 back taxes. Income-tax charges concerned YAs 2008–2010 and 2012, plus non-filing for YA 2011; GST non-registration concerned 2008–2011.

Facts, amounts and outcome

Two proceeded income-tax counts attracted S$129,794.85 penalties. GST non-registration caused S$453,105.24 unaccounted tax and attracted S$45,310.52 penalties plus a S$5,000 fine. Ng received a No-Filing Service letter for YA 2011 but did not meet its conditions because he had business income beyond auto-included employment income. Conditional no-filing treatment did not exempt additional trade receipts.

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.

More news