Mollyn Nakabea 
[Supplied]
The Suva Magistrates Court has ruled that a man has a case to answer for falsifying tax documents.
The ruling for Reginald Lal was delivered this morning by Resident Magistrate Joseph Daurewa.
Lal, who served as the Operations Manager for N. Mudaliar & Company, has been charged by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption with one count of falsification of documents.
It is alleged that between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016, Lal dishonestly falsified Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority Tax Compliance Certificates on four different dates.
During the hearing, FICAC counsel called six witnesses and submitted 23 exhibits.
Magistrate Daurewa said a representative from FRCS confirmed that four TCCs bearing her signature were fraudulent, as she had signed no TCCs in 2016 and the name reflected on official certificates for that period should have been Visvanath Dass.
The Court also heard that a prosecution witness’s testimony confirmed that Lal personally delivered the four TCCs in question to the client company.
The Court ruled that the prosecution had successfully established relevant and admissible evidence covering all four essential elements of the charged offence: the identity of the accused, dishonest falsification of documents, issuance under the Tax Administration Act 2009, and the intention to obtain a gain.
Magistrate Daurewa formally dismissed Lal’s application.
The matter is adjourned to October 22nd to confirm the defence’s position at its defence hearing.
