The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has referred Hussain Irufan, the owner of pharmacy 'My Chemist', to the Prosecutor General's Office for prosecution, following allegations of tax evasion. Irufan's business imports and sells various medicines.
The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has referred Hussain Irufan, the owner of pharmacy 'My Chemist', to the Prosecutor General's Office for prosecution, following allegations of tax evasion. Irufan's business imports and sells various medicines.
In a statement, MIRA disclosed that it had conducted a criminal investigation into Irufan's tax practices. The agency accused him of submitting fraudulent Business Profit Tax (BPT) statements for 2018 and 2019, as well as income tax statements for 2020, with the intent to evade taxes.
"This was done with the intention of evading taxes," MIRA stated.
MIRA's investigation uncovered that income from Irufan's wholesale business, My Chemist Godown, was omitted from tax returns filed for the years 2018 to 2020.
On average, Irufan failed to report an annual income of MVR 53 million, resulting in an additional MVR 12 million in taxes owed, according to the audit. MIRA has requested that Irufan pay the outstanding amount.
According to Section 64 of the Tax Administration Act, intentionally evading taxes is a criminal offense. It is also illegal to assist someone in evading taxes.
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