Section 43A. Evasion of sales tax.

Sales Tax Act 1972 (Act 64)
PART X - CRIMINAL OFFENCES

Section 43A. Evasion of sales tax.

(1) Any person who wilfully with intent to evade or to assist any other person to evade sales tax -

(a) omits from a return made under this Act or any regulations made under this Act any information in relation to any matter affecting the amount of his or the other person's chargeability to sales tax;

(b) makes any false statement or entry in any return, claim or application made under this Act or any regulations made under this Act;

(c) gives any false answer, whether verbally or in writing, to any question or request for information asked or made in pursuance of this Act or any regulations made under this Act;

(d) prepares, maintains or authorizes the preparation or maintenance of any false book of accounts, false invoices or other false records, or falsifies or authorizes the falsification of any book of accounts, invoices or records; or

(e) makes use or authorizes the use of any fraud, art or contrivance,

shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and such person shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

(2) Where in any proceedings under this section it is proved that a false statement or false entry (whether by omission or otherwise) has been made in a return, claim or application furnished under this Act or any regulations made under this Act by or on behalf of any person, or in any books of accounts, invoices or other records maintained by or on behalf of any person, that person shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have made that false statement or entry with intent to evade sales tax.

(3) A reference in this section to a person who makes use of any fraud, art or contrivance, or authorizes the use of any fraud, art or contrivance to evade sales tax includes a reference to a person who, without the authority of the Director General -

(a) destroys, damages, erases or otherwise manipulates the data stored in, or used in connection with, a computer;

(b) introduces into or records or stores in a computer, by any means, data for the purpose of -

(i) destroying, damaging, erasing or altering other data stored in that computer; or

(ii) interfering with, interrupting or obstructing the lawful use of that computer, or the data stored in that computer; or

the purpose or effect of which is to evade sales tax.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) , "data" includes any computer program or part of a computer program being a program approved by the Director General for use under section 17A or 18, or any regulations made under this Act.

[Ins Act A1058:s.18]