The total number of summonses issued by the Registrar of Companies against companies and their directors for breaches of the Companies Ordinance, mainly for late filing of documents in the first six months of 1995 was 118, compared with 75 during the same period in 1994.
Eighty-one convictions were obtained in the period compared with 72 in the same period of 1994 and 47 cases remain to be heard by the court (28 in the same period of 1994). The total amount of fines imposed for convictions in the first half year of 1995 was $1,301,760, compared with $1,067,875 in the corresponding period in 1994.
End/Monday, July 17, 1995
Garment manufacturer jailed for tax evasion
After a month long trial in the District Court, Hong Kong's largest tax evasion case concluded today (Monday) when a 57 years old garment manufacturer was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 15 months jail. In addition, Yip Kam-sing was fined a total of $3,725,701 100 per cent to the tax evaded - and was ordered to pay $100,000 costs.
Yip, a director and shareholder of York Industries Ltd, was charged with six counts of tax evasion by submitting false tax returns contrary to Section 82(1)(d) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, and six counts of tax evasion by creating false cloth material purchases in the company's books of accounts, which had the effect of understating profits in the tax returns, contrary to Section 82(1)(g) of the Ordinance. The tax evasion charges covered six years from 1985-86 to 1990-91.
Delivering judgment, Judge Kilgour said the prosecution was base on a comprehensive and meticulous investigation and the case against Yip was a formidable one. He found Yip had concocted four companies and submitted false invoices and receipts to overstate purchases. The false purchases amounted to about $22 million and the profits tax evaded was $3.7 million. He held that the testimony of the first defence witness was unconvincing and misleading.
The tax evasion offences involved the submissions by Yip to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of profits tax returns for the tax assessment years 1985-86 to 1990-91 in which assessable profits had been understated, and as a result, profits tax evaded.
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