Restaurants seized over tax evasion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration seized on Tuesday two restaurants of the Sederhana restaurant chain, that serve West Sumatran dishes, for the management's failure to pay tax arrears amounting to Rp 359.3 million (US$42,270).

"Earlier, seven of Sederhana's restaurants had failed to settle Rp 646 million in unpaid taxes," said the Jakarta Revenue Agency head of confiscation and auction division Jinur Lumbangaol.

"Five of the restaurants managed to pay the taxes and their fines before the deadline but the other two have not," he added, referring to the restaurants located on Jl. Bendungan Hilir in Central Jakarta and Jl. Gandaria Tengah III in South Jakarta.

According to Lumbangaol, the restaurant chain's unpaid taxes comprised the two restaurants' taxes from 1999 to 2003 amounting to Rp 160 million and a fine of Rp 199.3 million.

He said the restaurants were seized as the management had not shown goodwill in settling its arrears.

Bylaw No. 4/2002 on city taxes stipulates that evaders have 16 days to pay their arrears, after which the city revenue agency can issue a letter of seizure.

Lumbangaol claimed that his agency had sent two warning letters to the managements but they did not respond.

"We have given them a grace period of 14 days to settle their obligations. If they do not, we will auction off the two restaurants," he said.

Late last year, the agency planned to seize properties belonging to five tax evaders comprising three hotels and two restaurants.

But it later changed its stance, claiming that the evaders had started to pay their arrears, amounting to Rp 3.27 billion.