Govt takes strict measures to track down companies evading tax returns
Top defense officer, two sons hold fraudulent nationality
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 17: The Ministry of Finance has launched a number of new measures to track down companies which evade paying taxes, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The daily quoting reliable sources said this is done in cooperation with several institutions, including the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Information.
The sources stressed the Ministry of Finance in the face of the phenomenon of disappearance of a number of companies and evasion of payment of their taxes will publish names of such companies in the official gazette Kuwait Alyawm, in preparation to filing lawsuits, which calls for the issuance of a set of procedures and rules to dealing with such companies.
Through the publication of claims in the official gazette would be a way of dealing with three types of companies.
The company, body or institution or its representative which refuse to receive the tax notice issued by the ministry or postman.
Closed company or body or institution, or closing the place of work or absence of representative.
Unknown nationality or location, or mailbox or fax number.
The new procedures indicate that if the company’s address, PO Box or fax number is not known, the Finance Ministry will inquire about the company’s address and of the person who represents it, his home address in Kuwait from the PACI.
If it is found that the company or the representative has a home address within the State of Kuwait he will be notified, and if it is found that there is no headquarters or home of the representative in Kuwait, the tax notice will be published in the official gazette, to replace the personal receipt of the notification.
In the event any of the previous cases (refusal to receive, closing the company, not knowing the address) are available, the Inspection and Tax Claims Department will publish notices in the official gazette.
Following the completion of the publication procedures in the official gazette, the Ministry of Finance will file a lawsuit against the company to collect the due amounts.
The sources confirmed that there are companies reluctant to pay taxes, including a global company which entered Kuwait and carried out a number of works, and then refused to pay the taxes, in addition to many of the local companies that have disappeared and liquefied the work before paying taxes, which forced the ministry to take strict measures to collect tax.
The source said a large sum of taxes are due from non-oil revenues, where the value of taxes imposed during the previous fiscal year was about 135 million dinars imposed on foreign companies operating in Kuwait, while the value of taxes collected from local companies was about 80 million dinars.
Fraudulent nationality:
The concerned party in the Ministry of Defense is in a state of shock after investigations conducted by the security services confirmed a highranking
officer had obtained the Kuwaiti nationality through fraud, reports Al-Rai daily quoting a knowledgeable source.
The source said the “the file of the officer who occupies a sensitive position has been referred to the Public Prosecution along with his two sons who are also working as officers in the Ministry of Defence, after compiling evidence against the suspects.”
The source expressed surprise that this senior officer was member of the investigation committee on military contracts and deals on the Caracal and Eurofighter planes, which was formed by the First Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah, despite the information and investigations that were ongoing on the officer and his nationality.
The source added: “The ministry also allowed the senior officer to attend the Graduation Ceremony for officers which was held last week under the patronage and presence of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed.”
‘Visit visa’ flesh traders:
Personnel from the vice-squad affiliated to the Criminal Investigations Department have arrested two Ukrainian women who entered Kuwait on
visit visas to indulge in flesh trade, reports Al-Rai daily.
A security source said police acting on information that the women were charging KD 100 for one hour of pleasure, raided the apartment in Salmiya and seized the two women. The security sources added, the women had advertised their activity via the porn sites and arrived into the country after receiving the money in advance from their customers.
The women were reportedly arrested on Valentine’s Day eve. Police have seized money from the women and referred them to the concerned authority to prepare their deportation from the country.