A married couple, who ran a nail salon that went bankrupt, have been found guilty of evading BD20,411 in value-added tax (VAT).
The Bahrainis were convicted by the High Criminal Court, but both of them were given 12-month suspended sentences, which would become effective from the day a final appeal verdict is issued at the Cassation Court. They were also fined a total of BD20,411.
The husband received an absentia verdict as he is out of the country and did not appear before judges for his trial.
Prosecutors earlier charged the man and woman, aged 45 and 46 respectively, with non-payment of taxes on services that the establishment provided to its customers.
According to court documents, the businessman owned the nail salon, but his accountant wife was in charge of its administration.
Though the wife admitted to tax evasion, she told the Public Prosecution that she was unable to afford the levy as she was deep in debt.
She added that the salon, with three branches, was eventually closed down, though customers had paid for the services and the prices were inclusive of VAT charges.
The court heard that the husband-and-wife duo failed to pay outstanding VAT fees to the National Bureau of Revenue (NBR) from the beginning of 2020 to March 2023.
Despite declaring their taxes and submitting the documentation 13 times during that period, they failed to pay the amounts stated in the disclosures, missing the 120-day payment deadline 13 times.
NBR officials discovered the non-payment when the defendants stopped filing their taxes in the fourth quarter of 2023, as the company had gone bankrupt by then.
The couple could have avoided criminal trial had they paid off the VAT to the NBR when the evasion was detected, but they allegedly had no funds to pay up.
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