GST fraud: 5 NRIs jailed in Singapore

They were jailed for making fraudulent GST refund claims amounting to Singaporean dollars 167, 253 ($120,092) between January 2015 and May last year. Kothandaraman Gnanam, 29, Karunanidhi Rajesh, 32, Ramaiyan Karthikeyan, 44, and Waithiyalingam Karunanidhi, 61, were jailed for three years and three months. Their accomplice, Karunanithi Saravanan, 37, was jailed for three years and two months, the Strait Times reported. 

They were also fined between 14,000 Singaporean dollars ($10,052) and 70,000 Singaporean dollars ($50,262). Each accused also had to shell out 51,952 Singaporean dollars ($ 37,303) as a penalty. However, only 5,434 Singaporean dollars’ worth of tax refunds made to the five men have been recovered. 

The court heard that the men loitered in and around jewellery shops in ‘Little India’ area to obtain invoices and jewellery tags from customers, who were Singapore permanent residents, not entitled to GST refunds. 

Tourists visiting Singapore can claim GST refunds on goods they have bought when they leave the country. They receive a receipt for goods purchased and an Electronic Tourist Refund Scheme (eTRS) ticket when they buy items from a GST-registered retailer. They can then use the eTRS ticket to make GST refund claims at ports of departure such as the Changi Airport. 

The five men used their passports and white embarkation cards to obtain eTRS tickets from the respective shops using the receipts they had obtained. The men would then claim eTRS GST cash refunds at the airport before flying off.