Businessman faces tax evasion trial

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)