SINGAPORE - A director of a construction company was fined $3,500 and ordered to pay a penalty of about $100,000 for abusing the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme.
Selladorai Dharmalingam, the sole director of Al Bright Construction, was convicted of giving false information to illegally obtain a PIC cash payout and bonus for his company.
The 45-year-old had submitted a PIC cash payout appplication form on June 2013 for an electric overhead crane costing $84,102.
He received a cash payout of $50,461 and a PIC bonus of $15,000.
However, investigations by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) revealed that no such equipment had been purchased.
The court ordered Selladorai to pay a penalty of $100,922, twice the amount of the cash payout wrongfully obtained.
Iras said in a statement that it takes a serious view of any attempt to defraud the Government.
Offenders convicted of PIC fraud will have to pay a penalty of up to four times the amount of cash payout fraudulently obtained and a fine of up to $50,000. Offenders may also be jailed up to five years.
Those who provide information leading to a recovery of tax that would have otherwise been lost would be given a reward of 15 per cent of the tax recovered, up to $100,000.
