Offences and Penalties

The Income Tax Act was enacted on 28 September 1967 with effect from the year of assessment 1968 and subsequent years. Inside, section 112 to 116 of the Income Tax Act 1967 deal with offences and penalties. Some of the section have been judiciously considered and others not. The offences and penalties may be dealt with as in the following paragraphs.

The Section 112 is Failure to furnish return or give notice of chargeability. By virtue of Section 112 the burden of proving that a return has been made is upon the accused person. In Public Prosecutor v Lee Seng She (MLJ 266) where a taxpayer was convicted for failing to submit his returns within the stipulated time, Faja Azlan Shah J e,phasized the seriousness of income tax offences of this nature. In his Lordship's view the sentence of RM25 on each of the three charges in the case were inadequate and increased the fine to RM150 on each charge. His Lordship also pointed out that in this type of cases, the learned magistrate should consider not only the "interest of the accused but also the interest of the public." The sentence was set aside and a fine of RM150 was imposed. The provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance 1947 still continue to operate for years of assessment 1948-1967 and prosecutions in respect of failure to lodge return forms for those years will be under the respective sections of the said Ordinance.

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