By Akinyi Winiefred
Four people including a company director have received prison sentences for perpetrating tax fraud.
Rajesh Rabadiya, Bhudiya Devshi Jadva, and Suresh Bhudiya were convicted of making false statements that caused a tax loss of UGX 2,117,532,486 to the government.
Court heard that between July 2015 and June 2022, the three filed false Value Added Tax (VAT) monthly returns, purporting to have sold goods to various companies, which was never the case.
Rajesh Rabadiya entered a guilty plea to all charges and was given a sentence of 16 months in jail overall. Both Suresh Bhudiya and Bhudiya Devshi Jadva received a six-month term.
Jinal Patel was also accused in the same case and convicted of violating Section 60(1) of the Tax Procedure Code Act, 2014 by assisting the earlier convicted persons in committing the crime of making false statements. He received a 13-month prison term.
In a similar case, Dai Qi a Director, a Fujian Industries Park Limited was charged with three counts of making false representations to a tax official. The total amount of VAT tax due in this case was UGX 226,920,749. From March to May 2020, Fujian Industries Limited traded invoices in this context. On July 21, 2023, Dai Qi, who had been given bail initially on June 1 of that year, altered his plea and pleaded guilty.
As a result, court imposed a maximum fine of forty-eight currency points or three years’ imprisonment on each count, as provided by the law. Dai Qi was also ordered to pay the VAT tax liability of UGX 226,920,749.
These convictions follow the prosecution and sentencing of two hardware store bosses in Hoima for similar offenses.
Additionally, they emphasize URA’s dedication to combating tax evasion by making it evident that individuals who do so will be held accountable in court. The authority’s continued initiatives to guarantee tax compliance and collect unpaid taxes continue to be of utmost importance in the fight against financial fraud and corruption.
