General manager charged with Value-Added Tax evasion

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com   

A 52-year-old Bahraini man, the general manager of an individual establishment, has been charged with evading value-added tax (VAT).

The High Criminal Court commenced the hearing of the case, and scheduled the next hearing for August 4th for further investigation and response.

The defendant allegedly evaded paying VAT on services subject to the tax from 2021 until the present date.

Despite the legally mandated 120-day period for payment, he failed to pay a total of BD35,327.319.

The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) provided evidence to the Public Prosecution that the defendant’s establishment had been registered for VAT since July 1, 2019, and had submitted six tax returns, but failed to pay the corresponding amounts after the legal deadline.

The NBR confirmed that the defendant’s establishment submitted six tax returns between October 31, 2021, and January 31, 2023, without paying the required VAT.

Consequently, the case was referred to the collection department and then to the legal affairs department for further legal action.

A letter from the NBR dated March 24th requested the initiation of criminal proceedings against the defendant for VAT evasion.

The total amount of VAT evaded was confirmed to be BD35,327,319.

The defendant admitted to the charges during the investigation by the Public Prosecution, stating that he was unable to pay the amount to the NBR due to non-payment for work he had undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBR record confirmed the defendant is the owner of the individual establishment.