MUSCAT: The Court of First Instance in the Wilayat of Amerat issued a court ruling against two expats for not complying with tax requirements and for violating Income Tax Law No. 28/2009.

In a statement issued, the Tax Authority said the court convicted the two defendants for deliberately refraining from submitting the declaration that must be submitted in accordance with the Income Tax Law, as well as for their willful failure to provide correct data related to tax compliance.

The court ruled against the accused six months imprisonment and a fine of OMR 2,000. They will be deported from the country permanently after completion of their sentences.

Dr. Abdul Hakim bin Salem Al Harthy, Director of the Legal Department of the Tax Authority, said: “Going back to the details of the case, the Department of Combating Tax Evasion in the Tax Authority received information that two accused conducted large financial transactions, and as a result of that, the judicial control officers conducted investigations and collected evidence.

“It was found that the accused did not submit proper tax reports for those financial transactions in the company’s financial accounts. The investigators also found that the minutes were edited. The authority then referred the case to the Public Funds and Money Laundering Cases Department at the Public Prosecution to complete the legal procedures and referred the accused to the competent court,” he said.

“It is worth noting that the Tax Authority has taken a number of measures to enhance compliance levels and combat tax evasion crimes; including the establishment of departments for tax compliance and a department specialized in combating tax evasion,” the authority said in the statement.