A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND businessman was charged in court on Friday with 10 charges of making false claims of Goods and Services Tax refunds involving about $480,000.

Jagbir Singh, 39, who has been paralysed for nearly 20 years, allegedly committed the offences from 2005 to 2007 with intent to help 3 D International, of which he is director, evade tax.

He is said to have made false entries in the company's GST returns which resulted in the undercharging of tax totalling $482,073 over the 2 1/2 years

The company designs, supplies, installs and distributes sound, lighting and video systems.

Mr Shashi Nathan is representing Jagbir Singh for free.

He asked for time to prepare his case as he had just been instructed.

The case will be mentioned on May 15.

If found guilty, Jagbir Singh may be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to seven years on each charge.

In addition, the court will order a penalty of three times the amount of tax undercharged which will amount to $1.4 million for the 10 charges.