MUSCAT : The Criminal Circuit at the Court of First Instance in Seeb issued a “presence” verdict convicting a defendant in a tax evasion case. This follows proof of two misdemeanors: the intentional failure of the responsible employee to provide a return of the actual taxable income, and the intentional failure to submit the required tax return, in violation of the provisions of the Income Tax Law issued by Royal Decree No. (28/2009).

The court convicted the defendant and sentenced him to six months in prison for the first case, and one month in prison and a fine of OMR 500 (five hundred Omani Rials) for the second case. The court ordered the consolidation of the penalties, with the execution of the harshest sentence, while obliging him to pay the public prosecution costs. On the civil front, the court ordered the defendant to pay the civil claim to the plaintiff (the Tax Authority), amounting to OMR 34,379 (thirty-four thousand, three hundred and seventy-nine Omani Rials).

The details of the case—as reported by a spokesperson from the Tax Authority—reveal that the responsible employee in the company intentionally failed to submit a return of the actual taxable income by providing tax returns for the tax year (2018) that did not reflect the true revenues of the company’s commercial activity. Audit procedures revealed discrepancies between the revenues in the final accounts and the financial deposits recorded in the bank statements linked to the commercial activity. The spokesperson added that the responsible employee also intentionally failed to submit the required returns for the years from 2019 to 2023, with the intent of evading the payment of due taxes, which totaled OMR 34,379 (thirty-four thousand, three hundred and seventy-nine Omani Rials).

He pointed out that the case file was referred, after the completion of procedures, to the Public Prosecution at the Department of Public Funds and Money Laundering Cases, where the defendant was investigated and subsequently referred to the competent court, which in turn issued the conviction.

The spokesperson concluded his statement by emphasizing that this ruling is part of a series of judicial verdicts reflecting the firmness of the Omani judiciary in applying tax laws and confronting tax evasion and fraud. He stressed that the Authority continues to monitor violations, track perpetrators, and take all legal measures against them to ensure the protection of public funds and the consolidation of the principles of tax justice.