A popular restaurant has been convicted by the Suva Magistrates Court for failing to issue a proper Tax Invoice as required under the Value Added Tax Act 1991.
Deo Narayan Singh trading as Singh’s Curry House was charged after he failed to issue a proper tax invoice to one of its customers on June 30th at its Morris Hedstrom City Centre outlet.
While sentencing Singh, Magistrate Liyanage said the tax invoice ensures the transparency of the payment of tax to the government charged by the business to the consumer and it is the right of the consumer to have an invoice of his or her transaction.
Fiji Revenue and Customs Service chief executive, Visvanath Das, says this conviction should serve as a deterrent to other businesses who are not issuing correct tax invoices.
Effective from August 1st, the maximum fine for this offence is five thousand dollars or 10 years imprisonment for a first offender; $15,000 or ten years imprisonment for a second offender or $25,000 or 10 years imprisonment for a third offender or more.
Das says FRCS is clamping down on businesses and individuals who are involved in systematic tax evasion by not issuing proper tax invoices and under-declaring their sales figures.
