A director of IT firm Greenit was sentenced to eight weeks in jail for fraudulently claiming a Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) cash payout of $58,143 for his company.

This is the first such prosecution since the scheme was introduced in 2010.

Khoo Tzyh Shin, 34, was also ordered to pay a penalty of $232,574, or four times the payout fraudulently claimed. Greenit was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay the same penalty.

The PIC scheme gives tax deductions or cash payouts to firms if they take steps to boost productivity. This includes automation and training.

When Khoo pleaded guilty on Sept 4, a district court heard that the company falsely made a claim for the cash payout for the purchase of computer equipment worth $193,812. In fact, it spent only $1,500 on used computer equipment.

The firm had also lied that it had acquired the various computers between 15 May 2010 and 6 June 2010 in order to qualify for the payout for the period of assessment for 2011.

Another technology firm, Exel Mitsui Technologies, was also charged with lying in its PIC claims. Its case will come up for mention next week.