Arab Food Store Owner Faces Trial Over BD 240,000 VAT Non-Payment

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Manama: The First High Criminal Court has considered a case involving a food store owner accused of evading more than BD 240,000 in value-added tax (VAT) by submitting incorrect declarations and failing to maintain proper financial records.

According to court proceedings, the accused businessman did not appear despite being notified, while a lawyer attended on his behalf. The court decided to reserve the case for sentencing on March 17.

The Public Prosecution stated that since the first quarter of 2023, the defendant, as the owner of a commercial establishment and its branches, failed to pay VAT within the legally prescribed period, resulting in unpaid tax estimated at more than BD 240,000. Prosecutors said he submitted inaccurate tax declarations to the National Revenue Authority (NRA), deducted VAT inputs without legal justification, and intentionally understated taxable amounts to evade payment.

Investigations further revealed that the accused failed to issue tax invoices for taxable transactions and did not maintain proper tax records, invoices or accounting books related to sales, imports and services during 2023.

The case originated from a report submitted through the “Tawasul” application, alleging tax evasion. Judicial officers inspected the store’s branches and found multiple violations, including incomplete invoices, incorrect valuation of goods, and the omission of sales revenue from tax returns. The matter was referred to the Tax Evasion Crimes Unit at the Financial Crimes and Money Laundering Prosecution.

Following an investigation supported by the NRA, authorities lifted banking confidentiality on the accused’s accounts, reviewed financial documents and heard expert testimony. The findings confirmed the submission of false declarations, unjustified VAT deductions and failure to maintain mandatory tax records, forming the basis of the charges against the defendant.