THE Johor Baru magistrates’ court today imposed a RM2.4 million penalty, in addition to a fine of RM18,000, on a recycling company director over her failure to file tax returns for the assessment years of 2021 and 2022 involving a taxable income of more than RM3.3 million. 

Magistrate Nurzihan Abdul Rehman imposed the sentence on Wong Siew Lan, 49, who pleaded guilty as charged, and ordered an imprisonment of 12 months, if she failed to settle the fine. 

Wong was charged under section 77A(1) of the Income Tax Act 1967, which requires her to furnish a tax return in the prescribed form C for years of assessment 2021 to 2022 to the Inland Revenue Board director-general. 

She failed to file the returns for the taxable income of RM1.83 million for the assessment year 2021 and RM1.56 million for 2022, which meant she should have paid a tax of RM812,478 for both the years combined. 

Under section 112(1A) of the Income Tax Act 1967, the offence was punishable by a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or imprisonment up to six months or both, in addition to a special penalty of triple the tax payable. 

Prior to sentencing, Wong, a mother of five, who was unrepresented, pleaded for leniency. 

She said her children were still in school, and her elderly mother and mother-in-law depended on her, adding that she had also paid taxes of RM120,000 (RM60,000 each) for both 2021 and 2022.

However, IRB senior counsel Norhidayah Yasin requested a commensurate sentence due to the fact that the RM120,000 paid was a mere fraction of the payable tax of RM812,478.

Nurzihan then ordered Wong to pay a fine of RM18,000 and a penalty of RM2.44 million to be paid in instalments to the IRB, with effect from today. – Bernama, July 5, 2023.