KOTA KINABALU: ZBN Group Holdings Sdn Bhd and its directors, Zulnizar Norsinin, 41, and Rubiah Ahmad, 62, were fined a total of RM48,000 for failing to pay service taxes and penalties totaling RM2.18 million to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department between 2019 and 2022.
Sessions Court Judge Hurman Hussain sentenced each defendant to RM1,000 per charge for 16 charges, or 14 days’ jail per charge, and ordered them to settle the outstanding taxes within 24 months, failing which they face 12 months’ imprisonment.
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The offences, under Section 26(4) of the Service Tax Act 2018, carry penalties of up to RM50,000 or three years’ jail per charge.
The defendants had submitted SST-02 returns on time but did not make the payments or pay late penalties. In mitigation, Zulnizar cited Covid-19 cash flow issues and a dormant business since 2022, while Rubiah claimed low income.
Customs officer Azizah Talibe called for a deterrent sentence, noting the company had collected over RM2.1 million from customers but failed to remit taxes.
The total unpaid taxes initially amounted to RM2.91 million, with RM729,609.12 already paid.
