Muscat – The Court of First Instance in Seeb has convicted a defendant in a tax evasion case after establishing two misdemeanours under the Income Tax Law.

The charges relate to the deliberate failure of an employee to declare actual taxable income and the intentional failure to submit mandatory tax returns.

The court sentenced the defendant to six months’ imprisonment for the first offence. For the second, it imposed one month’s imprisonment and a fine of RO500. The court ordered the consolidation of penalties, with only the harsher sentence to be enforced. The defendant was also ordered to bear prosecution costs.

In the civil claim, the court ruled that the defendant must pay RO34,379 to the Tax Authority, representing the value of the evaded taxes.

A spokesperson for the Tax Authority said the case followed submission of inaccurate tax returns for 2018 that did not reflect the company’s actual commercial revenues. Audit procedures later identified discrepancies between income reported in final accounts and deposits recorded in bank statements linked to the business.

The spokesperson added that the defendant failed to submit required tax returns from 2019 to 2023 with the intent of evading tax obligations amounting to RO34,379.

Following completion of legal procedures, the case was referred to the Public Prosecution’s Department for Public Funds and Money Laundering. After investigation, the defendant was referred to the competent court, which issued the conviction.

The spokesperson said the ruling is part of a series of judicial decisions reinforcing enforcement of tax laws and efforts to combat evasion and fraud. He added that the authority will continue to monitor violations, pursue offenders and take legal action to safeguard public funds.