‘VAT fraudster’ faces trial

A shop manager was referred to trial on fraud charges after attempting to dupe customers in the name of Value-Added Tax (VAT), the Public Prosecution announced yesterday. General Prosecutor Ameena Isa, Head of Ministries and Public Entities Prosecution, said in a statement that the defendant had attempted to fool the shop’s customers via adding an extra charge to the prices of the items sold in the shop.

And he told them that the increase in prices was because of implementing VAT as per the country’s regulations, although it was found that the shop was not registered with the VAT Bureau. Therefore, he was found to have violated the VAT regulations and the Public Prosecution said in the statement that the defendant had created a wrong impression among customers.

“The shop was shut down temporarily, pending further inspection,” the statement pointed out, revealing that the shop manager will stand trial on Thursday before the Lower Criminal Court.