Businessman faces tax evasion trial

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court began the trial of a private company director charged with tax evasion yesterday.

Prosecutor EM Simandjuntak told the court presided over by Judge Hasan Mahyudin that Awad Ahmad Yuslan Martak, 54, Director of PT Mila Jaya Abadi, falsified company data submitted to the local tax office from October 1989 to May 1990.

"The defendant has evaded Rp 528 million in taxes, inflicting substantial losses on the state," Simandjuntak said.

The defendant, who stand charged with violating Article 39 of the Tax Law Nine issued in 1994, as well as Article 65 of the Criminal Code, could face six years in prison, the prosecutor said.

Simandjuntak said that in October 1989, the defendant reported that PT Mila Jaya Abadi had paid value added tax to its business partner PT Daya Guna Insani and substantiated the report to the tax office with bogus tax invoices. PT Daya Guna Insani had never issued tax invoices and the tax office had never legalized them, he said.

The defendant reported in November 1989 that the turnover of PT Mila Jaya Abadi was Rp 79 million, but in fact the turnover was Rp 937 billion, Simandjuntak said.

In December 1989, Awad did not report exports worth Rp 443 million and he also reduced the company turnover from Rp 2.4 billion to Rp 1.9 billion.

Awad also falsified data about his company's workers to avoid paying income tax.

He also refrained from turning in his tax form to the tax office as regulated by law. Under the tax laws, taxpayers are obliged to fill out the tax form, sign and submit it to the Directorate General of Tax or a local tax office.

The trial was adjourned until Oct. 25. (29)