A married couple, who ran a now-bankrupt nail salon and were convicted of evading BD20,411 in taxes, have been acquitted after reaching a settlement with tax authorities.
In October last year, the High Criminal Court gave the Bahraini couple 12-month suspended sentences, which would become effective the day a final appeal verdict is issued at the Cassation Court.
They were also fined BD20,411.
Before lodging their first appeal, the two arrived at a tax conciliation agreement with the National Bureau of Revenue (NBR) and paid off outstanding VAT (value-added tax) fees.
After receiving documents clearing them of tax evasion, they took to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to get their previous conviction overturned, and succeeded.
A Public Prosecution representative also submitted a letter from the NBR, informing the court that the case ended in a friendly settlement following full payment of fees.
The GDN earlier reported that the wife, who works as an accountant, admitted to tax evasion and stated that she was unable to afford the taxes because she was deep in debt.
She added that the salon, with its three branches, was eventually driven to close down, even though customers had paid for the services, inclusive of VAT charges.
According to court documents, the 45-year-old businessman owns the nail salon and his 46-year-old wife is in charge of its administration.
The court heard that the evasion took place from the beginning of 2020 up to the business’s closure in March 2023.
Despite declaring their taxes and submitting the appropriate documentation 13 times within that period, they reportedly paid none of the amounts in the disclosures, missing the 120-day payment deadline a total of 13 times.
NBR officials discovered the non-payment when the appellants 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 appeared to have had no funds with which they could pay up.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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