IPOH: A 49-year-old lorry workshop owner has been charged at the Sessions Court with eight counts of failing to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) and penalties totalling more than RM271,000.
Look Pek Kong claimed trial after the charges under Section 41(7) of the Goods and Services Tax Act were read before judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad on Thursday (Oct 22).
According to the charges, Look allegedly failed to pay GST that was due for eight taxable periods between April 1, 2016 and June 30, 2018.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Customs Department in Perak.
The tax amount was about RM226,040 while the penalties totalled about RM45,835, amounting to RM271,875.
Those found guilty could be fined up to RM50,000, imprisoned for up to three years, or both.
Look also faces two other charges under Section 165(4) of the same Act and Section 57(4) of the Service Tax Act for allegedly failing to produce documents requested by Customs officers.
The prosecution proposed bail of RM3,000 for each charge, while the accused pleaded for a lower bail amount, saying he could only afford RM1,000 for each charge.
Bail was then set at RM1,000 for each of the eight charges, with one surety.
The prosecution said the accused is expected to pay the total bail of RM8,000 later in the day.
The court fixed Nov 19 for mention.
